It was always going to be difficult to separate A Wrinkle in Time from the cultural conversation that is happening right now at this moment. Ever since Disney gave Ava DuVernay the green light for this ambitious, quirky fantasy adaptation, Wrinkle has been more than just a movie. After rising to prominence with the acclaimed Selma and the brilliant 13th, DuVernay has become a beacon for change within the industry, and her ascendance to the blockbuster leagues was an event of monumental importance. And it's good that we're having these discussions and noting these changes- DuVernay is the first African-American woman to helm a $100 million project, and that's an important milestone that is much overdue. But despite the prevalence of internet thinkpieces on the topic, the quality of A Wrinkle in Time was ultimately destined to change the conversation around it. If the film ended up being good, the mentions of diversity and groundbreaking advancements in the industry would enhance the discourse around the film, giving added texture and urgency to a great work of art. But in the unfortunate case that it ended up being a misfire, the conversation would evaporate, leaving critics and fans with nothing but a disappointing movie.
The trailers may have been scattershot, but I maintained hope that DuVernay had somehow managed to create a prime new example of fantastical cinematic myth-making, something that would feel like The Wizard of Oz for a new age. Maybe it was the weight of unrealistic expectations, but A Wrinkle in Time falls well short of the mark. The film isn't a total fiasco- the emotional beats hit the mark most of the time, its heart is in the right place, and DuVernay has no shortage of visual imagination. But Wrinkle's ambitious sense of scope is consistently undermined by Jennifer Lee and Jeff Stockwell's script, which manages to be both thoroughly random and completely unsatisfying. As a children's film, some of the decisions here feel inevitable and understandable. The didactic nature of the messaging and the obvious exposition at every turn is a clear appeal to the kids in the audience, and I get why DuVernay had to gear things towards a younger audience. But you can feel the filmmaker trying to make something of this at every moment, struggling to find real humanity beneath all of the whimsy and magic. It's a film that wants every second to feel wondrous and bombastic, but it all gets tedious rather quickly. While A Wrinkle in Time has its redeeming qualities, it's unquestionably a wildly uneven, truly exhausting fantasy adventure.
Meg Murry (Storm Reid) used to be a star student, a young girl with a passion for science and a natural curiosity. That passion was fostered by her brilliant scientist parents, Dr. Alex Murry (Chris Pine) and Dr. Kate Murry (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who both have some pretty radical ideas about the capability of humans for inter-dimensional travel. But when Meg's father disappears without a trace, her world crumbles. She's bullied mercilessly by another classmate (Rowan Blanchard), her principal (Andre Holland) expresses disappointment in her performance, and her only real friend is Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe), her adopted brother. She makes a quick friend in Calvin (Levi Miller), but the real change comes when she finds a mysterious woman named Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), who informs Meg and her family that Alex is somehow still alive. The tesser theory worked, and Alex has been abandoned in the universe.
Along with the quote-filled Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) and the godlike Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey), Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace embark on a journey to find the missing doctor. But along the way, they'll come into contact with an evil being known only as the It, a force for pure chaos and hatred in the world. As the danger increases, Meg will have to find the strength to fight not only for her father, but for herself as well. It's a powerful story of self-discovery and determination, and for all of its faults (and there are many that I will get to very shortly), this film has a big beating heart that strikes at unexpected moments. In a way, the story of A Wrinkle in Time is sort of like a reverse Inception- the kids are trying to find their father instead of the other way around. And as the film reached its conclusion, I felt a surprising amount of warmth for a film that mostly doesn't work, almost because I was reminded of that Nolan classic. Much of it is credit to Storm Reid and Chris Pine, two actors who do wonders to elevate the material here. They have to carry the emotional weight of the story, and they have some beautiful moments together.
The problem then is......well, almost everything else. DuVernay's film is an ambitious kaleidoscope of visual and thematic ideas, but it rarely pauses to consider the effect its unique imagery is having on the viewer. Almost every scene in the first half of A Wrinkle of Time is meant to put the audience in a state of shock and awe, to inspire some kind of wondrous reaction. And after a while, it just becomes too much- a certain button is being pressed, but it's being pressed over and over and over again to the point that an audience member will likely feel overstimulated. DuVernay clearly had the budget and the ability to let her imagination run wild with this project, and she produces some spectacular images. But it almost feels like she's limited by the nature of the source material, which is simultaneously quirky, cerebral, and childish. There are scenes where it feels like DuVernay is yearning for something more real and intimate in this fantastical wonderland, where she brings the camera in close and delivers something that almost feels out of place in the movie. In a way, the freedom of a big-budget movie like this is also limiting, and you can feel that throughout Wrinkle.
Ultimately, DuVernay's solid work isn't the root of the movie's failures. She's adept at piecing together memorable shots, and some sequences are particularly notable for their fearless originality. But the script, written by Jennifer Lee and Jeff Stockwell, consistently lets her down, to the point that I'm not really sure why nobody ordered a re-write. A Wrinkle in Time is a curious case of a film being both inexplicably random and containing exposition dumps that are brutal in their obviousness. The Mrs. Who, Whatsit, and Which characters exist solely to provide information to Meg, and it's so startlingly one-note that I was almost astonished. At the same time, Calvin appears in the movie out of nowhere, with virtually no explanation for why he's suddenly here. These things may just be part of the nature of the source material (I read it years ago), but these are the kinds of things that a good adaptation should change.
In regards to the question of audience, there's no doubt in my mind that this is a film aimed squarely at children. And there's a chance that some kids will be enamored by A Wrinkle in Time's mixture of recognizable human drama and surreal fantasy. However, I've never bought the idea that a movie's audience determines its quality, as there are plenty of great children's movies released each year- this just isn't one of them. DuVernay took on a monumental challenge with A Wrinkle in Time, and it's unfortunate that her gamble didn't exactly pay off. It's a messy film, one that can't seem to find its footing until the final moments. And worst of all, it feels like many of the issues could have been ironed out if the script had just been cleaned up a few more times. But with the news that DuVernay is taking on New Gods next, it's obvious that she isn't done with the big-budget sci-fi realm. While Wrinkle's heart is in the right place, hopefully her next outing is the one that blows us all away.
THE FINAL GRADE: C (5.6/10)
Images: Disney/IMDb
The trailers may have been scattershot, but I maintained hope that DuVernay had somehow managed to create a prime new example of fantastical cinematic myth-making, something that would feel like The Wizard of Oz for a new age. Maybe it was the weight of unrealistic expectations, but A Wrinkle in Time falls well short of the mark. The film isn't a total fiasco- the emotional beats hit the mark most of the time, its heart is in the right place, and DuVernay has no shortage of visual imagination. But Wrinkle's ambitious sense of scope is consistently undermined by Jennifer Lee and Jeff Stockwell's script, which manages to be both thoroughly random and completely unsatisfying. As a children's film, some of the decisions here feel inevitable and understandable. The didactic nature of the messaging and the obvious exposition at every turn is a clear appeal to the kids in the audience, and I get why DuVernay had to gear things towards a younger audience. But you can feel the filmmaker trying to make something of this at every moment, struggling to find real humanity beneath all of the whimsy and magic. It's a film that wants every second to feel wondrous and bombastic, but it all gets tedious rather quickly. While A Wrinkle in Time has its redeeming qualities, it's unquestionably a wildly uneven, truly exhausting fantasy adventure.
Meg Murry (Storm Reid) used to be a star student, a young girl with a passion for science and a natural curiosity. That passion was fostered by her brilliant scientist parents, Dr. Alex Murry (Chris Pine) and Dr. Kate Murry (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who both have some pretty radical ideas about the capability of humans for inter-dimensional travel. But when Meg's father disappears without a trace, her world crumbles. She's bullied mercilessly by another classmate (Rowan Blanchard), her principal (Andre Holland) expresses disappointment in her performance, and her only real friend is Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe), her adopted brother. She makes a quick friend in Calvin (Levi Miller), but the real change comes when she finds a mysterious woman named Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), who informs Meg and her family that Alex is somehow still alive. The tesser theory worked, and Alex has been abandoned in the universe.
Along with the quote-filled Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) and the godlike Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey), Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace embark on a journey to find the missing doctor. But along the way, they'll come into contact with an evil being known only as the It, a force for pure chaos and hatred in the world. As the danger increases, Meg will have to find the strength to fight not only for her father, but for herself as well. It's a powerful story of self-discovery and determination, and for all of its faults (and there are many that I will get to very shortly), this film has a big beating heart that strikes at unexpected moments. In a way, the story of A Wrinkle in Time is sort of like a reverse Inception- the kids are trying to find their father instead of the other way around. And as the film reached its conclusion, I felt a surprising amount of warmth for a film that mostly doesn't work, almost because I was reminded of that Nolan classic. Much of it is credit to Storm Reid and Chris Pine, two actors who do wonders to elevate the material here. They have to carry the emotional weight of the story, and they have some beautiful moments together.
The problem then is......well, almost everything else. DuVernay's film is an ambitious kaleidoscope of visual and thematic ideas, but it rarely pauses to consider the effect its unique imagery is having on the viewer. Almost every scene in the first half of A Wrinkle of Time is meant to put the audience in a state of shock and awe, to inspire some kind of wondrous reaction. And after a while, it just becomes too much- a certain button is being pressed, but it's being pressed over and over and over again to the point that an audience member will likely feel overstimulated. DuVernay clearly had the budget and the ability to let her imagination run wild with this project, and she produces some spectacular images. But it almost feels like she's limited by the nature of the source material, which is simultaneously quirky, cerebral, and childish. There are scenes where it feels like DuVernay is yearning for something more real and intimate in this fantastical wonderland, where she brings the camera in close and delivers something that almost feels out of place in the movie. In a way, the freedom of a big-budget movie like this is also limiting, and you can feel that throughout Wrinkle.
Ultimately, DuVernay's solid work isn't the root of the movie's failures. She's adept at piecing together memorable shots, and some sequences are particularly notable for their fearless originality. But the script, written by Jennifer Lee and Jeff Stockwell, consistently lets her down, to the point that I'm not really sure why nobody ordered a re-write. A Wrinkle in Time is a curious case of a film being both inexplicably random and containing exposition dumps that are brutal in their obviousness. The Mrs. Who, Whatsit, and Which characters exist solely to provide information to Meg, and it's so startlingly one-note that I was almost astonished. At the same time, Calvin appears in the movie out of nowhere, with virtually no explanation for why he's suddenly here. These things may just be part of the nature of the source material (I read it years ago), but these are the kinds of things that a good adaptation should change.
In regards to the question of audience, there's no doubt in my mind that this is a film aimed squarely at children. And there's a chance that some kids will be enamored by A Wrinkle in Time's mixture of recognizable human drama and surreal fantasy. However, I've never bought the idea that a movie's audience determines its quality, as there are plenty of great children's movies released each year- this just isn't one of them. DuVernay took on a monumental challenge with A Wrinkle in Time, and it's unfortunate that her gamble didn't exactly pay off. It's a messy film, one that can't seem to find its footing until the final moments. And worst of all, it feels like many of the issues could have been ironed out if the script had just been cleaned up a few more times. But with the news that DuVernay is taking on New Gods next, it's obvious that she isn't done with the big-budget sci-fi realm. While Wrinkle's heart is in the right place, hopefully her next outing is the one that blows us all away.
THE FINAL GRADE: C (5.6/10)
Images: Disney/IMDb
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