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The Age of Adaline (2015) Reviewed By Jay

United States, 04 April 2014

 

Jay´s Review

Do you think eternal youth sounds appealing? AskAdaline, who, after an automobile accident over 80 years ago (when she was 29), has been rendered an endlessly young woman. You just might think again!

This PG-13 film wasn't at all what I expected; I'm happy to confess it was better. It has silly moments that just don't add up and some of the quasi-scientific explanation is too contrived, but it's unpredictable and fun, so I'm not going to worry about it. Director Lee Toland Krieger ("Celeste & Jesse Forever") manages to overcome some of the silly stuff and embrace the rest.

We watch:

  • * Blake Lively ("Gossip Girl") Adaline was her original name but to avoid becoming a laboratory specimen for science, she must move and change identities at least once every ten years. This condemns her to a solitary life. (She's really good at Trivial Pursuit though, you can learn a lot over a lifetime like hers.)
  • * Michiel Huisman ("Game of Thrones") Ellis is charmed, fascinated and head over heals for this woman he meets at a New Year's Eve party. He tells her the worst joke she has ever heard.
  • * Harrison Ford ("Ender's Game") William is preparing to celebrate his 40th wedding anniversary; both of his children will be there.
  • * Kathy Baker ("Saving Mr. Banks") is Connie, William's wife and the mother of his children.
  • * Anthony Ingruber (TV and short films) is remarkably well cast as William's younger self; he has that little sideways grin down pat.
  • * Ellen Burstyn ("Interstellar") is Flemming, Adaline's daughter, who is considering a move to an assisted living place in Arizona. She has kept her mother's secret all these years.
  • * A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (I think) represents all her companions over the decades. Unfortunately, humans usually outlive their pets.

I particularly enjoyed the sweep of history that has occurred since 1908, including the construction and use of the Golden Gate Bridge. It's fun to see the evolving hair styles, the fashions and the cars! Our screening audience giggled at the coincidences and at some of the voiceover nonsense, but exited the theater in high spirits. (We had suspended disbelief.)

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