Movies known as “chick flicks” come in a variety of actual
types of movies. There are the comedies that revolve around the trials and
tribulations of being a woman (think BRIDESMAIDS), there are the women seeking
something more out of their lives type (think THELMA AND LOUISE) and there are
what was once just called romantic movies. The thing is that most of these
movies aren’t limited in enjoyment by women alone. Guys like some of them as
well. I have a feeling that will be the case with THE AGE OF ADALINE, and not
just because guys are in love with Blake Lively.
Born in 1908, Adaline Bowman (Lively) lives a normal life.
She grows up, she gets married, she has a child and becomes widow. And then one
fateful night it snows in California, Adaline crashes off the road ending up
freezing underwater and having her car struck by lightning at the same time.
The end result is that Adaline suddenly stops aging as we know it. This sets a
stream of events moving forward that form the basis of our story.
Years go by. Adaline continues not to age whereas her
daughter (Ellen Burstyn) does. They meet often, remain close and as each decade
passes Adaline changes her name and identity. She’s currently Jennifer, living
in San Francisco and working for a historical society. She lives with no one
but her dog and avoids contact with most people having few friends. She spends
New Year’s Eve with one of these friends and as she leaves the party a young
man jump into the elevator with her. Adaline has caught his eye and he’s
determined to get to know her better. Unfortunately she rebuffs his advances
knowing full well where this will end.
But the young man isn’t that easily pushed aside. It turns
out that he’s a wealthy philanthropist named Ellis (Michiel Huisman) and he’s
about to donate some historical books where she works. IF she’ll go out with
him. He slowly breaks down her barriers and the two get involved, but in
Adaline’s mind for just a short time. She has plans on moving to start a new
life, her new identity. Again, things never seem to go as planned.
As the two begin to fall in love, Ellis invites Adaline aka
Jennifer, to the home of his parents, William and Kathy (Harrison Ford and Katy
Baker). A shock is in store for all as William immediately recognizes Adaline.
It turns out that back in the sixties the two of them were involved to the
point that he was about to propose to her. Passing herself off as the daughter
of Adaline she calms things down. But through William’s eyes the resemblance is
uncanny. Can Adaline move past the problems she knows she will face should she
get involved with someone? Will William’s thinking he knows who she is
complicate matters? And will Ellis be able to convince her to find love, be
able to accept her if he learns of her problem?
The movie unfolds at an even pace, never rushing things and
allowing the viewer to watch learn more and more about this wonderfully
complicated woman who has suffered severe pain and loneliness in a world filled
with people. And that’s to the benefit of the story. Various moments in the
film move back and forth through time, allowing us to see the things that
happened in Adaline’s life that formed her into the woman she is today. While
she may look 29 she’s actually 107 in her mind.
Director Lee Toland Krieger does a magnificent job here on
several levels. To begin with his method of storytelling is superb, bringing us
the bits and pieces we need to know to move the tale forward and allowing us to
develop feelings for the characters. At the same time his visual styling here
is wonderful to behold almost turning the film into art rather than just a
movie in the way it is framed and put together. It’s rare that I find movies to
touch me this way and this one does it well. You want to watch not just to get
the story but to just watch the images as they appear onscreen.
All of the actors involved here turn in great performances
but Lively must be singled out. I’ve seen her in a few things and have never
noticed her this controlled and perfect in her performances. She carries
herself with an air of elegance in this role as if it were made for her, never
hitting a false note from start to finish. While watching I couldn’t help but
think of Grace Kelly and the way she acted with that air about her that made
you feel she was special.
THE AGE OF ADALINE is a movie that will touch your heart. It
will make you either long for a love that was lost or appreciate the one that
you have, realizing that each and every moment you spend with someone is
special. It’s not a fluff piece of romance but a deeply felt one that will
capture you in its story and hold you there until the end. In the end while
some will call this a chick flick I think of it more as a movie to be enjoyed
more than once.
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