There is an old phrase that says, "youth is wasted on the young." The older I get, the more I think that phrase is true. I would probably give anything too go back and stay twenty-five forever. But in The Age of Adaline, director Lee Toland Krieger tries too teach us that unlimited life is wasted unless you have someone to grow old with.
Blake Lively plays Adaline Bowman. One fateful night, Adaline gets into a car accident and is struck by lightening, which makes her stop aging. After many decades, and many identity changes, Adaline meets a young man who is worth telling the truth too. But Adaline finds out the man's father is the last person she ever truly gave her heart too, and she reconsiders telling her new beau the facts about herself.
I was intrigued by this film for several reasons. I've always enjoyed the idea of immortality, only with this film we get it without the vampire twist. Adaline didn't have to suck anyone's blood to stay youthful; she just was. Second, I always thought Blake Lively is a better actress than the roles she is given. Perhaps this was a role that could help take her to the next level. And third, there had been a bit of buzz about Anthony Ingruber, the actor picked to play a young Harrison Ford.
First, the film had some good ideas behind it. You saw Adaline interact with her daughter, played by Ellen Burstyn, who had become elderly and was thinking about moving into a retirement community while Adaline was still as young as they day she gave birth to her. Also, Adaline owned a handful of dogs throughout her life. They were all the same kind of dog, and she was always sad when she lost them. But beyond those connections I didn't think Krieger did a good enough job connecting Adaline's past life to her present one. We are given a brief review into her life up until 2015. There were flashbacks throughout the film which were good, but not used enough and properly. I would have liked to have seen more moments of drama in her life besides the ones she is currently experiencing.
Second, Blake Lively played her role nicely. For a woman who has lived for over a century she had to possess a sense of patience and class. Mrs. Ryan Reynolds gave an accent that made you believe this woman was older than she looked, but she didn't give us a performance that would change people's perspective of her as an actress. I still think her best performance in a movie is The Town. The rest of the cast kind of took a back seat to Lively. The only one who was in the film long enough to leave any kind of impression was her love interest, played by Game of Thrones star, Michiel Huisman. While not bad, his performance didn't impress me either.
Third, I wanted to see more of the love story between Adaline and William, played by Anthony Ingruber. Aside from 42, I haven't seen a good Harrison Ford performance in years, and this film is no exception. But I was hoping for more about the last man Adaline ever loved. Their past was explained in almost all brief montages that didn't give us any kind of attachment to their relationship. However, the brief moments I saw Ingruber do his Harrison Ford impersonation I was impressed. But like the rest of the film, the filmmakers were too focused in Adaline's present than telling us where she had been too help us understand her current predicament.
I was expecting more from this film and walked away thinking this was a missed opportunity for a good movie. I think the actors were capable, so I'm left to blame the director and production crew. A few more edits(such as the constant narrating) and plot choices(like more time in the past) could have turned this movie into more than just a film people will forget a month after it's been on blu-ray.
RATING: D+
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