By Hope Sandusky/nw news editor
Movies about humans with mutations are not uncommon in the film industry. More often than not, they are products of mythical fantasy, freak accidents or some other unexplainable factor.
The Age of Adaline centers on a human with a mutation but explains it through science rather than fantasy.
Photo courtesy Lions Gate
The movie is about the life of Adaline Bowman (Blake Lively). After an accident, she has remained 29 over the course of eight decades. She refuses to get close to anyone and moves from place to place to avoid attachments.
When she meets young philanthropist Ellis Jones (Michiel Huisman), her life of solitude quickly changes. During a weekend with his parents (Harrison Ford and Kathy Baker), Adaline faces the choice of exposing her secret and falling in love or continuing to run from the people around her.
This film is not an action movie. While the central conflict seems domineering, it is played so subtly the audience may not even see it as a major conflict. The movie evokes a feeling of the past. While set in 2014, the movie doesn’t ever feel modern.
What makes the film work is the science behind it. Adaline’s accident isn’t explained by fate or mystique but rather through a logical, scientific process.
Lively is spectacular as Adaline. She plays the character with a grace and conviction that comes across as someone who has truly lived years and years despite her appearance. Huisman plays in love like it’s his second nature. With a supporting cast including Ford, Baker and Ellen Burstyn, the film has no shortage of talent. The audience doesn’t ever focus on the actors in the film, rather they work seamlessly as the characters themselves.
An area the film never quite addresses is the fact that while Adaline adapts to every decade she lives in, she lives in the current decade as if she is living in the 1940s. While not overly distracting, it is odd that no one questions this fact in the film.
This movie isn’t for people who hate slow-paced romances. The movie does run a little over two hours, and a good portion of it is told through narration. But, for those looking for something different, this is the film. It’s never too romantic that it’s over the top. It has a solid cast with great acting. The story carries the movie. It doesn’t rely on any types of tricks or manipulation.
With a slew of action-packed movies hitting the theaters seemingly every week, this is a good alternative.
