Well, I’ll be the first to admit it. I’m not the target demographic for this weepy melodrama about a woman who can’t age and lives a lonely, solitary life in order to hide from its complications. While the concept has some potential and results in a unique moment or two, the product is still something of a mixed bag. Those of you reading who are excited to see this film will probably give it a rating one grade higher than this reviewer. But in fairness, while The Age of Adaline is a decent enough weepie, it only works intermittently.
Adaline (Blake Lively) may have been born in the early 1900s, but she doesn’t look a day over 29. Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on how you look at it), a car accident combined with a lightning strike causes her to maintain a youthful glow for eternity. Her fear of becoming a government guinea pig forces Adaline to avoid socializing and keep a distance from those around. However, when she’s pursued romantically in the present day by Ellis (Michiel Huisman), she finds herself conflicted about falling for him.
The lead is a tortured soul having lost many of the people she has loved over time and this is emphasized by having her pour over photo albums of dead relatives and pets. One presumes the point is that Adaline is in such fear of being found out that she’s giving up on life and love. But for a character who calls herself an expert at maintaining anonymity, she sure makes a whole lot of mistakes – ones that seriously strain suspension of disbelief.
For one, Adaline behaves like she’s walked out of a time machine set to the 1950s. She uses old-fashioned turns of phrase. Despite her youthful appearance, she wins arcane trivia contests. And while talking to people about history gives incredibly detailed first person accounts and then, to paraphrase, throws in a, “or at least that’s what I’ve heard.” As viewers, it’s a little odd to see her carry herself so differently from others, including those she meets who lived through the same time period.
It’s a tough role to pull off and even though Lively does well, the character is still hard to swallow as written. The romance with Ellis is sweet enough although a little awkward, as mentally the woman is 80 years older than her partner (don’t worry romance fans, this troubling aspect of the relationship is never really addressed).
The endless story coincidences also add to the cornball aspect. It feels like every place Adaline goes and every other person she meets shares some strange past with her. These repetitive twists of fate lead the story and romance just where it needs to go at each particular moment, and it all appears calculated and overly convenient.
Thank goodness for Harrison Ford, who steps in during the second half of the movie to inject some vitality. His character carries a lot of emotional weight and the actor’s mannerisms shift effortlessly between fascination and confusion to hurt as we learn more and more of his backstory. The actor’s scenes are the most interesting to watch by far.
But as the story approaches its climax, more coincidences and revelations occur that wrap things up in a simple little bow (well, unless you consider how awkward Adaline’s family functions are going to be for the remainder of her existence).
And this is a minor point, but for some strange reason the filmmakers have insisted on incorporating a jarring and lugubrious narration to the proceedings. Early on, there’s an unnecessary explanation of the details of Adaline’s condition. What’s even stranger is that it’s described using actual scientific terminology.
Even as someone who knows little about the subject, it all sounds preposterous. In fact, the only people who will understand the concepts raised are those who work in the field… and they will find it to be nonsensical gobbledygook (trust me, I asked a scientist). So why even bother? Why not add an air of mystery to the strange phenomena and Adaline’s eccentric condition?
If you can shut your brain off from the details, The Age of Adaline is a passable romance thanks to a few effective moments (courtesy of the supporting cast). However, this reviewer wasn’t quite charmed enough by the proceedings to really buy into the notion, or its dramatic entanglements.