The Age of Adaline

19 Replies

We missed this screening while in Paris, and I was okay with missing it, although our proxy did give it a one-word rave review: “fine”.

On our return flight from California, it was the only New Release I hadn’t already seen, so I gave it a go, and came up with much the same conclusion: it’s fine.

Adaline gets into an accident that causes her to stay 29 forever. And then she has the gall to TheAgeofAdaline2complain about it.  So that’s annoying. And she may have the glowing complexion of a 29-year-old, but she tells a story like a 129 year old: it’s long, rambling, often pointless.

Adaline, that is to say Blake Lively, looks gorgeous in every era. But her “problem” has made her selfish and I had a hard time finding anything likeable about her, other than having Ellen Burstyn as a daughter, and wondered why yet another of her “problems” was having all these handsome men fall in love with her. Wow. Poor Adaline. Tough life.

Anyway, you know exactly where this movie is going, and it goes exactly there, eventually, after a lot of plodding along.

I did love that it was set in San Francisco, since I had just been holidaying there myself, and recognized her digs in Chinatown. Actually, San Francisco is maybe the most interesting character – it’s often shot beautifully, almost noir-ish, which almost makes me sad. It looks and sounds like a movie that was supposed to be so much better than it was. Unfortunately it’s just another bland romance with a light and improbable sci-fi twist – basically, a very pretty fashion show. And the thing is, I don’t buy Blake as anything more than a mannequinn. She’s a clothes horse, but her eyes are blank. Her face is incapable of communicating anything to the audience, and she pales next to Harrison Ford, who gives off some mega wattage in a hammy performance I didn’t expect from him.

Verdict: missed opportunity.

19 thoughts on “The Age of Adaline”

  1. Cindy Bruchman

    Wow! First San Francisco, then Paris. I’m suitably jealous 😉 Harriosn Ford gives an over-the-top performance? Usually he is pretty wooden. Blake. meh. I can’t tell if you like it or not. I’m not sure I missed an opportunity. Nice review, Jay

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    1. Jay Post author

      You didn’t miss anything.
      I didn’t care for it, no.
      And yes, exactly, Harrison Ford usually has a one-note, wooden performance, so I was surprised that he kind of let loose – like, why now? Why on THIS?

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  2. Carrie Rubin

    I went into this movie expecting the worst, so with expectations so low, I was actually pleasantly surprised. I found it less sappy than I figured it would be. Certainly predictable though.

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  6. ruth

    You’re just in Paris? Nice! I dream of Paris every day now because of my Parisian crush 😉 Speaking of which, that Michiel Huissman is hot, I’ve been wanting to check this out partly because of him and of course Harrison Ford. The kid who plays his younger version looks so much like him it’s uncanny!

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  7. msmariah1

    Hi Jay, nice review. Blake Lively is one of those actors that I just can’t bear to see as lead. She’s like a female Colin Farrel or Vince Vaughn. I’m just not interested. It doesn’t sound like I missed much. This movie has been getting a lot of “meh” reviews.

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  10. Ally B. Jones

    I cry so easily these days. I try to stay away from dramatic movie cause I’m the weirdo that cries at the end of a season on power rangers..don’t judge me.

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