The Time Traveler’s Wife tells the tale of Henry DeTamble (Eric Bana) and his weary wife, Clare Abshire (Rachel McAdams) whose love affair is severely marred by his uncontrollable disappearances across time.
Since she was six, Clare knew the man she was going to marry was Henry. One day when she was playing out in the field behind her house, he appeared out of the blue, after telling her that he was a time traveler, he promptly disappeared five minutes later, with the promise that they were going to meet when she grew up.
After many meetings like this, with Clare meeting grown-up Henry behind the same field a decade later, their ages finally catch up to each other and they meet in the library where Henry works at. Clare, who has known Henry since she was six, knows, without a doubt, that they were going to end up together, and tries her best to explain to Henry about their relationship.
They quickly fall in love and get married. Yet Clare suffers during the marriage with Henry constantly disappearing into another time. He can’t help where he goes, when he goes, or how long he disappears from and that frustrates Clare. Then one day while having lunch with their friends in their home, they discover an older Henry dying in their kitchen.
For the next few years of their lives, they live in the fear that Henry would die anytime once he reaches the age of 40. But, they still hold strong and try their best to live as normally as possible.
A romance that stays strong through decades, through pretty much one of the worst afflictions a person could have. The ultimate romance story on sacrifice, and true love. Ladies will swoon over the romance of it all, men will likely groan.
The story of a love-time continuum is interesting to say the least, and the story is heart-wrenching especially at the parts where Clare was left to fend for herself without Henry for weeks on end. Then became even more depressing when Clare suffered through a series of miscarriages. It was hard to sit through the movie with dry eyes.
However, like many films adapted from novels, the movie seemed hurried and jumped through a few important scenes. I started to feel like Clare in the movie, dying to get out of the humdrum cycle as I watched Henry disappear for the millionth time.
Both Bana and McAdams shared a wonderful chemistry, and admirably bring the characters of Henry and Clare to life. But even with their sparkling presence, the depression that hung over the movie never lifted.
If you’re fans of The Notebook (the schmaltzy movie based on Nicholas Sparks’ novel), or simply want to get over a bad breakup, this tear-jerker of a movie might be your thing.
| Rating: |  |
