Now Playing: Time Traveler's Wife

I dragged my feet about going to see Time Traveler's Wife. I had my reasons: Eric-fucking-Bana, it received bad reviews, Eric-fucking-Bana, it's a beloved book of mine that I didn't think could be adapted right, did I mention Eric-fucking-Bana? Anyway, I thought It would be a neat movie to see with the SociaLits, as this is one of the first books I remember reading for Book Club. In end, Ance and MissMaggy joined me in my quest to not be distracted by Eric-fucking-Bana and enjoy the movie on its own merits.

When I heard they were making a movie, I really only had two requirements:
- A tear-jerker. I read most of the book semi-choked up and I just bawled like a baby near the end. It is honestly one of the most poignantly beautiful endings I've ever read. I need this to be somewhere close.
- A good Henry. What I really like about Henry-in-the-book is that he's a total paradox. He likes his punk rock and going to concerts in dives but he chooses the relatively safe profession of librarianship; he's learned to be tough and can run and throw punches with the best of them, yet he's never set foot on a plane. Henry(ITB) is an edgy character that's kept harnessed by his condition.

And then, I heard they cast Eric-fucking-Bana. I almost cried. I had pictured Edward Norton or Ryan Gosling or, even, Johnny Depp (though, that would be a stretch). And I was right. Bana can't play punk, and so they completely took that part of Henry's character out, leaving only the boring librarian bits (and none of the cool librarian bits). Thank goodness for Rachel McAdams who plays Claire convincingly and saves most of this production. The rest of the cast was quite good as well, especially Michelle Nolden, who plays Henry's mother.

As for the plot, it was left fairly intact, which brings me to the tearjerker requirement. I wasn't moved enough to cry even once. I think most of the blame falls on the ending, which isn't the book is simply beautiful in its finality. The movie leaves too much… hope? but an empty kind of dime store romance novel hope that you know doesn’t give you anything of substance.

There were some good things about the movie: the cast (minus Bana), the directing and the lovely locations. Claire's childhood home was almost exactly how I pictured it from Niffenegger's description. Other than those highlights, however, the movie fell odd flat. Which is too bad, given the source material. 3 out of 5 stars.