Film ReviewsA Wrinkle in Time: Tessering Passed the Story
Mar 23, 2018 Anchorage Press
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Sometimes there are good reasons to see bad or mediocre movies. Unfortunately for Ava DuVernay’s A Wrinkle in Time, this dynamic applies; blame the script.
“A Wrinkle in Time” is a novel written by Madeleine L'Engle in 1962, it’s about the coming of age journey of Meg Murray, played by the talented Storm Reid, as she embarks on an adventure to rescue her father (Chris Pine) from the clutches of a dark force in the universe known as “It”. Meg is accompanied on the trek her little brother, Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) and her neighbor and classmate, Calvin (Levi Miller). The three young actors are exceptional and Mr. Miller shines even though his talents are underutilized. The cast is diverse and stellar.
A wrinkle in time is perhaps one of the earliest books in America read by generations towards the end of the Cold War. L'Engle’s novel introduces young readers to the concept of dystopia and warns against the perils of fascism and conforming to social norms without question. Like C.S. Lewis, L'Engle is influenced by Christian metaphors of good and evil, light and darkness and perhaps even by the idea of angels. Viewers who have read the book will probably recall the terrifying and deeply compelling journey is as Meg and Calvin struggle to remain free from “It” and how heart wrenching it is for them to see the young Charles Wallace be engulfed by “It”– But that’s the book were talking about. In the movie version directed by DuVernay and produced by Oprah herself, the journey is lost. The film does not deliver on the darkness and anguish that is essential in order for light to triumph. DuVernay’s vision is one that play s it safe and is so determined to be right and in delivering scripted messages of empowerment in ways so obvious and deliberate that in doing so the plot goes by the wayside and the film is preachy.
The story of A Wrinkle in Time is often associated with the image of an ant that demonstrates how time and space are folded so the ant can travel vast distances in an instant. The image shows an ant walking along a string held by two hands. When the hand come together, the string is folded below them and the ant can go from one hand to the next an bypass the length of the string; that is tessering. This is how Meg and the gang travel to find the father, but this is to be exactly what happens to the structure of DuVernay’s film, the beginning and the end are pushed together and opportunities are tessered by. DuVernay’s attempt is much better than the 2003 attempt but still fall short. When trailers for this film were released over year ago it filled viewers familiar with “A Wrinkle in Time” with expectations commensurate with the capacity of their own imagination and this was both a good and a bad thing for DuVernay; on the one hand she had an already made audience awaiting the film’s release bated breath, but on the other hand it is impossible to fulfill or match the imagination of millions of people. The stellar cast and promises made by technology only adds to the layers of disappointment. And overshadows all the things the film does right does right, like the wonderful diversity in casting and all the strong and positive messages for young people that are delivered by bigger than life Oprah as Ms. Which.
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“A Wrinkle in Time” is a novel written by Madeleine L'Engle in 1962, it’s about the coming of age journey of Meg Murray, played by the talented Storm Reid, as she embarks on an adventure to rescue her father (Chris Pine) from the clutches of a dark force in the universe known as “It”. Meg is accompanied on the trek her little brother, Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) and her neighbor and classmate, Calvin (Levi Miller). The three young actors are exceptional and Mr. Miller shines even though his talents are underutilized. The cast is diverse and stellar.
A wrinkle in time is perhaps one of the earliest books in America read by generations towards the end of the Cold War. L'Engle’s novel introduces young readers to the concept of dystopia and warns against the perils of fascism and conforming to social norms without question. Like C.S. Lewis, L'Engle is influenced by Christian metaphors of good and evil, light and darkness and perhaps even by the idea of angels. Viewers who have read the book will probably recall the terrifying and deeply compelling journey is as Meg and Calvin struggle to remain free from “It” and how heart wrenching it is for them to see the young Charles Wallace be engulfed by “It”– But that’s the book were talking about. In the movie version directed by DuVernay and produced by Oprah herself, the journey is lost. The film does not deliver on the darkness and anguish that is essential in order for light to triumph. DuVernay’s vision is one that play s it safe and is so determined to be right and in delivering scripted messages of empowerment in ways so obvious and deliberate that in doing so the plot goes by the wayside and the film is preachy.
The story of A Wrinkle in Time is often associated with the image of an ant that demonstrates how time and space are folded so the ant can travel vast distances in an instant. The image shows an ant walking along a string held by two hands. When the hand come together, the string is folded below them and the ant can go from one hand to the next an bypass the length of the string; that is tessering. This is how Meg and the gang travel to find the father, but this is to be exactly what happens to the structure of DuVernay’s film, the beginning and the end are pushed together and opportunities are tessered by. DuVernay’s attempt is much better than the 2003 attempt but still fall short. When trailers for this film were released over year ago it filled viewers familiar with “A Wrinkle in Time” with expectations commensurate with the capacity of their own imagination and this was both a good and a bad thing for DuVernay; on the one hand she had an already made audience awaiting the film’s release bated breath, but on the other hand it is impossible to fulfill or match the imagination of millions of people. The stellar cast and promises made by technology only adds to the layers of disappointment. And overshadows all the things the film does right does right, like the wonderful diversity in casting and all the strong and positive messages for young people that are delivered by bigger than life Oprah as Ms. Which.
Check local listings