Flash Movie Review: A Wrinkle in Time
AS I LISTENED TO THE description of the show I became more horrified by the changes in the story. It was one of my favorite stories when I was a child. The changes I was hearing did not make any sense to me and I could not understand why anyone would want to tamper with a classic story. That is not just my opinion; the story has survived as they say the test of time, bringing joy to millions. The story has been turned into several films, theater productions and ice skating shows; yet for the most part the essence of it remained the same. Imagine how you would feel if you were going to see something that you were familiar with only to discover it was nothing like you remembered. For me it is like going to a favorite restaurant for a specific dish only to find out, after they brought it to your table, that the cooks changed it. Yes I know there is a possibility I could love it even more; but the chances the new dish will not satisfy my taste buds seem to always run higher. SO LET ME TELL YOU about the book today’s movie is based on. It was required reading when I was in school. I enjoyed the story so much that I read the book twice. It has been years since I thought about the story; but I remember anytime I was invited to a kid’s party I would always first consider buying this book as a gift. There were times I found out the child already had a copy of the book which in an odd way pleased me. I felt like this family, whether I was related to them or not, gets it; they understand the story is truly special and may also know the book was awarded the Newbery Medal. For those of you not familiar, the Newbery Medal is a literary award given to the author; think of it as the Oscars of children literature. As you may imagine I was looking forward to seeing this movie version of one of my favorite books. Let me also say I am aware I may not remember everything about the story but I do know how it made me feel and this adventure fantasy caused me to experience different feelings. FOUR YEARS AFTER HER FATHER disappeared from home Meg, played by Storm Reid (12 Years a Slave, Sleight), was visited by three beings who knew where her father had gone. With Oprah Winfrey (Selma, The Color Purple) as Mrs. Which, Reese Witherspoon (Home Again, Walk the Line) as Mrs. Whatsit, Mindy Kaling (No Strings Attached, The Office-TV) as Mrs. Who and Levi Miller (Pan, Red Dog: True Blue) as Calvin; I enjoyed the visuals in this picture. What I did not enjoy was pretty much everything else in this movie. I was actually annoyed with the direction; it seemed at least 50% of the scenes were shot in close-up. The script was so poorly written that almost all the characters were drab and lifeless. For such a story the writers and director needed to hit the viewers with deep emotional scenes, making the negative forces something we would fear. Instead I sat in my seat being bored and depressed with how wrong this movie got the story. Even the acting, except for a couple of actors, was bland and uninspiring. Now I will say if you have never read the book, you might find something you like about this movie. For me I plan on re-reading the story so I can forget about what I saw in this film.
1 ¾ stars
Posted on March 12, 2018, in Fantasy/Sci-Fi and tagged 1 3/4 stars, adventure, family, fantasy, levi miller, mindy kaling, oprah winfrey, reese witherspoon, science, space, storm reid. Bookmark the permalink. 15 Comments.
I must confess that I’ve never read the book. I grew up in Britain so maybe it wasn’t as popular a text there. I’d only vaguely heard of it before I emigrated. Your review makes me think I should skip the movie and just read the book.
Yes Laura please choose the book; it will be a better experience for you. Thanks for the comments.
I read liked the book. I liked the movie. I thought the mixed-race, adoption issues added depth. I liked the Mrs and how magical they were. I’m not sure I liked the way they filmed the tessering, with a face pressed into a cloth. That was creepy to me, but that’s me. I hate having my face covered. Anyway, overall I enjoyed it, but it was slow and contemplative rather than fast and exciting. The dad was disappointing in the end, and I don’t remember him that way in the book. I thought they didn’t put enough in the end about the principal and the neighboring girl. If they were going to introduce it, they should have resolved it with more… satisfaction. But overall, it had cool special effects.
Hi Brenda I am glad you got something out of the film and enjoyed it, along with the book. Thank you for the comments.
My friends who love L’Engle were also extremely disappointed in this movie. It’s been years since I read A Wrinkle in Time. I remember being completely captivated by it, so much so that I jumped into her other books in the series with absolute gusto. I’ve been thinking about reading the book again…Maybe if I choose to see the movie, I’ll see it first :). Though honestly, movies are so expensive, I think I’ll wait until Netflix.
March that is perfect compromise; wait for the movie on Netflix or DVD. If you do see it and read the book I would enjoy hearing your views on them. Thank you for the comments.
I heard the movie was dreadful. Thanks for confirming it.
Glad I could help as always.
The movie was featured in Time magazine (the article was mainly about strong women’s roles) so I decided to see it. I liked it, but I don’t think my friends did. I admit I never read the book. I can’t say it was a great movie, but as always with Hollywood, the visuals and special effects were interesting. If I’d read your review before seeing the movie, I probably wouldn’t have bothered and my friends wouldn’t have had to see it either.
Sadly this film was nothing like the book. I hope you did not pay full price to see it. Thank you for your comments.
I saw it in theaters and it was TERRIBLE! I can’t believe they skipped Aunt Beast and the twins!
I know; what were they thinking? Thank you for your comments.
You are welcome.
If I ever meet the director (If I do, I won’t say this… I will just think it), I’ll tell her that she has to READ a book before MAKING A MOVIE of it… 🙂
Should be in every contract! Thanks for the comments.
Yeah!!! Definitely!