2 STARS
Blake Lively’s beauty was probably the most enticing feature in The Age of Adaline. The film details a story of a woman who is suspended at the age of 29 as a result of a lightning strike which caused some sort of molecular ionisation, according to the bizarre narrator. This is yet another film that plays on the natural course of aging. Just think of it as the cousin of Benjamin Button or sister to The Time Traveller’s Wife.
Adaline attempts to live under the radar in her hometown of San Francisco as she drifts through the years, changing her identity each decade just in case anyone wonders how a 90 year old woman has the skin of a baby and a body that has defied gravity. Prior to the miracle/ disaster of immortality Adaline had a daughter and what else can you do but laugh when witnessing a 70 year old tucking into a celebratory birthday lunch with her mother who ought to be 90+ but instead looks like her granddaughter?
Of course, there must be a handsome man involved somewhere and, sure enough, a millionaire named Ellis Jones (Michiel Huisman) locks eyes with our beautiful, somewhat dull, main character now named Jenny and the attraction is instant. Living a life in which you do not age, romance probably ought to be treated with caution, but there will always be one (or a couple considering she has lived for one hundred and seven years) who you just can’t say no to. And what are the chances of these two men being father and son? In a Hollywood production I would say it is probably inevitable. Welcome William Jones (Harrison Ford), the father of Ellis Jones. A father and son having been with the same girl ought to be complex, enticing; this ought to be the inescapable entanglement that we are caught up in. But no, the monotonous tone overwhelms the chance for an enthralling plot twist. You do not feel a connection to Adaline, you do not learn anything about her nature, she is merely the woman that does not age. You are left indifferent as to whether she sticks with the rock hard abs of Ellis or begins a passionate affair with Harrison. And what should be an eagerness to discover whether or not this spell of immortality will be lifted, is more a feeling of apathy.
Think hard before seeing this film, although Adaline may have had everlasting time, we do not, so spend it wisely.
Edited by Georgina Varley
Sources
http://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Age-Adaline-Pictures-37192607#photo-37192607
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UzSekc0LoQ