A WRINKLE IN TIME (2018) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

a wrinkle in time (2018) movie

Genre              |   Science Fiction

Classification   |   M

Running time   |   100+ minutes

Released         |   29 March 2018

cast

Reese Witherspoon ... Mrs. Whatsit
​Chris Pine ... Dr. Alex Murry
Gugu Mbatha-Raw ... Dr. Kate Murry
Mindy Kaling ... Mrs. Who
Michael Peña ... Red
Zach Galifianakis ... Happy Medium
Storm Reid ... Meg Murry
​Oprah Winfrey ... Mrs. Which

director

​Ava DuVernay

writer

​Jennifer Lee ... (screenplay by)
 
Madeleine L'Engle ... (based upon the novel by)

cinematographer

Tobias A. Schliessler ​

music

​Ramin Djawadi

film editor

Spencer Averick

---

box office result

Worldwide               $? million

Australia                 $? million

North America        $? million

---

the best dialogue

x

x

x

---

A WRINKLE IN TIME (2018) MOVIE IMAGES

A WRINKLE IN TIME (2018) STORY SYNOPSIS

​Following the discovery of a new form of space travel as well as Meg's father's disappearance, she, her brother, and her friend must join three magical beings - Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which - to travel across the universe to rescue him from a terrible evil.

A WRINKLE IN TIME (2018) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 29 March 2018

​Pop ​Movee Rating

​A WRINKLE IN TIME is a well-intentioned but misguided cinematic adventure, based on the popular 1962 book of the same name, where a young girl must journey across time and space to rediscover her true self…

What of the story? 

Astrophysicist disappears while conducting an experiment to see if space-folding travel is possible. (Not even his Astrophysicist wife thinks to check his most recent work, just, on the off chance, his “disappearance” is validation of his work.) Daughter of the aforementioned Astrophysicist has meltdown in the wake of his disappearance. Boy genius son conjures some Intergalactic space-bending “Crazy Cat” ladies. Astrophysicist, daughter, her would-be boyfriend and Boy genius son head off with “Crazy Cat” ladies to find the Astrophysicist. Daughter finds Astrophysicist, only to learn he WAS more interested in his research than his family. Daughter rejects Astrophysicist father; electing instead to save Boy genius brother. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera...

The plot of A WRINKLE IN TIME makes very little sense and relies upon stunt-casting to deliver “feel good” as compensation for the flaws inherent within the source material. 

A WRINKLE IN TIME was Madeleine L’Engle’s first of four books in this series, following the time-hopping adventures of the Murry clan. That the author managed to squeeze four adventures out of the premise is a testimony to how much the world has changed in the half century or so since her novels first hit bookstores. Time travel and Tesseracts would have been cutting-edge in the 1960s, as the Kennedy Presidency dream of a manned mission to the Moon took hold of America’s imagination. These days, such things seem passe, as Western society generally, and the United States specifically, has reverted to a more insular, isolationist approach, where the most narcissistic manner of self-interest has supplanted the wide-eyed liberalism that allowed genuine cultural change sweep through the majority of developed Western society during the 1960s, allowing L’Engle’s books to find a willing audience.

The movie’s greatest fault is that it follows the plot (such as it) and the themes of the first L’Engle book too closely. Little effort is made by writers Jennifer Lee and Jeff Stockwell to contemporise the story. Director Ava Duvernay has publicly stated that this is a movie that she made A WRINKLE IN TIME for the thirteen year old version of herself. In considering this comment, one of the conclusions to be drawn from it is that the concerns Duvernay is imposing onto Meg’s character in the movie were relevant to the Director in 1985. 

A lot has changed in the intervening thirty-three years. 

The challenges confronting a thirteen year old today are very different. The teenagers of 2018 are more aware of the dangers of the world they live in. They are more aware of the pressures confronting them and their families. They have had to embrace the facts of life that feed insulation and isolationism because Humanity continues to impose itself upon the Earth in a manner that, given the relative lack of evidence to show the existence of life elsewhere in the universe,  is abhorrent to Universal design. People like to think they’re smarter than what they are and Humanity is drifting inexorably toward self-destruction as self-aggrandisement and entitlement take hold in the most heinous ways. These are the challenges of today’s youth and they are not reflected by either the novel of the latest cinematic version of A WRINKLE IN TIME.

A WRINKLE IN TIME takes the view that “Evil” is some removed “Other”; existing in some far-flung recess of the Universe, spreading its tentacles across time and space in search of its next victim. Quite frankly, it’s a nonsense. Madeleine L’Engle must have been on some pretty good “Stuff” when she wrote the book because there’s no way she was paying attention to some of the events that were shaping the cultural change and enabling the wide-eyed liberalism of the 1960s. The fight for racial equality in the United States is but one example. The “Evil” of racism was not some other-wordly force at work. Slavery and Racism in the Americas was born out of commercialism. The need for the well-to-do inhabitants of the New World to entrench their fortunes. From the very first Slaves to arrive until this very day, the vile attitude of those who justify depriving the right of one person to live on their own terms in favour of some other agenda is a conscious, man-made decision. There is not some Universal force “out there” controlling that decision.

Instead of taking a more thoughtful approach to the material, DuVernay opts to wallpaper over the fundamental flaw in the story’s premise and employ a strategy that is lifted straight from the John Hughes “Guide to Formulaic Teenage Melodrama”... 

Let’s get the smart, awkward girl to be the hero, “Get the guy” and save the day.

If it sounds like a cliche and acts like a cliche, then, it’s very likely to be a cliche.

On top of that, A WRINKLE IN TIME gets an additional layer of puff in an effort to lure a broader cross-section of moviegoers who may not be familiar with L’Engle’s book. The extra-terrestrial trio of Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling and Oprah Winfrey, who traipse around in the most garish of outfits, as Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which, must have sounded like a Casting Director’s dream when discussed during the movie’s pre-production. The finished product is less than stellar. In the movie, they pop up out of nowhere and, just as quickly, disappear again. At least in L’Engle’s book, it was clear Mrs. Whatsit was the Murry’s neighbour; having been sent to keep an eye on things as Mr. Murry got closer to uncovering the secret of space-folding travel. The film takes great liberty in assuming the viewer’s familiarity with the source material and, as a result, comes across as flippant and only prepared to reveal significant story revelations to those who have made an attempt to read the book before seeing the movie.. More effort is made in making these three characters stand-out visually than any attempt to offer a coherent story.

Unfortunately, there’s not much to recommend in terms of performance. The casting of Winfrey and Witherspoon adds little and the appearance of Zach Galifianakis as the Happy Medium pushes an already incredulous story into the realm of camp silliness. The only actor to make something of their role is Chris Pine as Mr. Murry. Despite his obvious desire to be a “Leading man” and Franchise headliner (STAR TREK), in recent times Pine has shown that he’s a much better actor when he’s playing Second or Third billing. His turn as Steve Trevor in 2017’s WONDER WOMAN was one of the keys to that film’s success and his performance as Toby Howard in 2016’s HELL OR HIGH WATER should have garnered more critical attention than what it did, but highlighted how good he can be with the right material. Storm Reid, as Meg, is the pivotal actress in proceedings, but she’s not quite up to the task. Her emotional range is too narrow and too many scenes feel like she’s performing. There’s no doubt, finding kids who can act must be the hardest part of any casting process, but a movie like A WRINKLE IN TIME needs to be bang-on with it to be credible with audiences. 

From the story to the cast, there’s just too many elements that make no sense or detract from A WRINKLE IN TIME. Unlike the story, the movie has no great universal significance and, at best, is a superficial diversion from the real-world challenges confronting young people.

A WRINKLE IN TIME (2018) USEFUL LINKS

​​A Wrinkle in Time (2018) - IMDb
​A Wrinkle in Time (2018 film) - Wikipedia
​A Wrinkle in Time (2018) - Rotten Tomatoes

digital updates delivered

facebook

instagram