Lee Toland Krieger (Celeste & Jesse Forever) gives us the best looking 107 year old you'll ever see with The Age of Adaline.
Adaline (Blake Lively, The Town) was born in 1908. When she turned 29 she had a car accident, and by all the right elements aligning themselves (as described to us by a droning narrator....more on that later), lightning strikes the car as she lay freezing in the water and voila.....no more aging. Science! To keep this a secret (from the government) she moves every couple decades and doesn't get close with anybody. This of course means that she stays away from the boys too, because she wants to avoid long term relationships. It's a rough life being young and beautiful forever. Then, she meets the boy whose wily charms break through her icy façade. I'm sure you can figure out the rest.
The biggest downfall of this film is that they took some interesting ideas about not aging and how that could affect one's life and glossed over a lot of the interesting aspects of it and turned it into your basic romantic drama. There was one thing that they did not gloss over, however, and that is her relationship with her daughter. Most of the film takes place in 2015, when her daughter (Ellen Burstyn, Draft Day) is getting up there in age. Some of the best scenes in the film are when Lively and Burstyn are interacting. The other stuff that seems to get glossed over is done so by flashbacks and a series of scenes that are narrated by Hugh Ross (For Love of the Game). The narration is just salt in the wound because it's very bland and matter of fact, like he's narrating some nature documentary on PBS. Luckily we only get the narration for a little bit on both ends of the film.
The other thing that bothered me a little were the coincidences. I get that the stars have to align just right to make this one person the only one in all the world to not age anymore. I can buy that to give us the plot point that drives the story. It's everything after that where it gets to be a bit much. One such incidence involves who finally helps convince her to let someone into her life. It could have been someone more random to make her new relationship feel a little less awkward. There's no way this relationship lasts after this reveal. That's as far as I'll go with that so as not to spoil. They might have been trying to say something about things coming full circle or some crap like that, but for me, the sheer magnitude of coincidences just didn't work.
What does work well for the film is the bit in the middle. Like I said before, this is essentially just a romantic drama at heart, and in that aspect it's pretty well done. Unexplored themes aside, having the aging problem is what gives the old romantic formula just enough twist to keep it different. Aside from the twist, it is also the acting that gives it boost. Lively does a fantastic job at playing the conflicted Adaline who wants to be with someone, but can't get herself to come out of her shell. The love interest, Ellis (Michiel Huisman, World War Z) does a fine job too. Harrison Ford did not have quite as big a role, but he actually came out to play for this one. I feel like he's just been going through the motions lately, but he looked like he actually gave a damn in this film. This gives me hope for that next little project he's doing in December.....something about a force and some war in the stars. But I digress.
All in all, if you're looking for some heavy commentary on how not aging would affect someone's life in our society, you'll get a little, but it will seem lacking. If you are looking for a decent romantic film with good acting and a dash of sci-fi, then this might be for you. A few flaws and some unexplored themes aside, this is a charming little film that is good for a date night with your significant other.
Rating: ******---- (6 out of 10) [rental]
Memorable Quote:
Adaline: If you've seen one, you've seen them all.
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