This Sunday, March 18, I saw "A Wrinkle In Time" with my girlfriend and my parents. She and I are avid moviegoers and my parents both loved the book. I purchased the book for my mother for Christmas, so we were all fairly anxious to see it. Here are my thoughts.
[Disclaimer: I am most certainly not a qualified movie critic, and this will definitely include some spoilers. Don't continue if you don't want to know a few things that happen in the movie. Don't say I didn't warn you.]
The good
"A Wrinkle In Time" is really a wonderful story. Here's a little bit of a synopsis, in case you're not at all familiar with the story.
Meg Murry and her brother Charles Wallace lost their father four years ago. Maybe he disappeared, maybe he left, who knows? But for Meg, it doesn't matter. She's lost without him. So when three celestial beings come to her and her brother, she (eventually) jumps at the chance to go with them to find her father, forgetting her own safety.
The story here is about family and love. Meg and Charles, and their new friend Calvin risk their lives for the slight chance they'll find Dr. Murry. They bound across the universe, and for Meg, it results in quite a bit of pain, both physically and emotionally. Before they even meet the three Mrs., as they are commonly referred to, however, Meg disappointedly asks her mother if she thinks her father will ever come back.
Her mother advises her to never give up hope, even after all these years.
When the three heroes finally find Dr. Murry, who happens to be on the planet where all the evil in the universe is located, Meg's brother Charles Wallace falls prey to this evil, and it controls his mind. The only way to defeat the evil, both for Meg in the movie and for us in our everyday lives, is with love.
She lists off all her faults to the now evil Charles Wallace and screams "But you love me anyway!" and eventually, it frees him. The clear message is that love, for yourself and for others, is the only way to defeat evil.
The bad
For all the things "A Wrinkle In Time" did right, it accompanied them with mistakes aplenty. From a technical standpoint, the movie is sort of choppy.
The scene changes are drastic and almost overdone. While the CGI usage, especially in the scenery, is astounding to look at, there is quite a bit, and it feels overwhelming. Being that I am, as stated before, not a movie critic, that's all I have to say about that.
Here is the part where the "books are better than movies" crowd gets their say. I always say you should not read the books for movies because you'll just be disappointed that it doesn't turn out how you imagined. And I'm still right. But, since I did read this book, even if it was seven years ago, I'm going to put my original feelings aside and say it. You guys might be on to something. While the movie was good, it is a far cry from the book.
The book is far more lengthy and detailed, while the movie tends to cut to the chase and move the story along rather quickly. The movie cut out quite a bit, and embellished some, too (Charles Wallace is adopted in the movie, but not the book, for example).
There were even some changes so drastic that I, someone who has not read this book in seven years and remembers almost nothing, noticed that they left things out. If you haven't read the book, then there really is no problem, although I do recommend reading it after you see it. But if you're like me, and you enjoyed the book as a child, you may find yourself feeling underwhelmed. As it stands on its own, its a magical and interesting story.
Compared to the book, however, it is lackluster and unfulfilling.
The verdict
Obviously, "A Wrinkle In Time" has many flaws, even some that irked me. But I don't think that should deter moviegoers. The story is good, and has a very good moral, and isn't that what you want in a movie? Sorry, book fans, the differences aren't what should stop anyone from seeing it. If you enjoyed the book, go see it visualized. The cast is good and there's even a little bit of humor. There has been quite a lot of anticipation for its release, and so far, it seems to be doing well.
A caution, however, is that you shouldn't go expecting it to be better than the book because as much as it hurts to say this, it's not that close. But the movie is good and has a lasting effect on viewers. After seeing it, I had a strong desire to go and read it again, and I hate reading books.
