Movie – The Time traveller's wife

Movie – The Time traveller's wife
Score : 8/10
Year :2009
Director: Robert Schwentke
Country : USA
Language : English
Duration:1h47
Story :Audrey Niffenegger (novel - éponymous title, released in 2009 as well) ; Bruce Joel Rubin (Screenplay)


Seldom do romantic dramedies mix in time travel of some sort, and in the Time traveller's wife, this is a successful blend. Contrary to the bonus documentaries, this time travel isn't science-fiction but fantasy, as it has no scientific basis, and its cause isn't even really explained, only hypothesised. 
The special effects for the time travel sequences are quite cool. 

This movie is based on a novel, and like the cast and crew mentions in the bonus material, have remained faithful yet had to condense and change certain aspect, to avoid a copy of the book, and also be able to concentrate on one of its facets : the romance, and how this couple's relationship evolves. 

The time travel here is different than any other that I've ever seen. Most have a real science-fiction aspect because they rely on science to explain how some kind of machine can displace a person or group of people to a different time frame - the examples of those are plenty. 
 As a result of one guideline for this time travel, there is full male nudity, but always shown in a tasteful way and from the back, and never revealing the private area - it's a romance movie, not porn.

 The images are edited in a non-linear fashion, building the storyline in a complex yet elegant tale, which one has to fully follow in order to understand. No quitting the room for a minute - pause it if you must. 

This is, like other romance movies, a story about a couple who meet and fall in love, but it's done in a very unique way. 

Word of caution : there are a few rather realistic looking bloody scenes, notably with a wound, and some emotional distress - the movie is PG13 as a result, and I suggest not watching on a hyper sensitive day, nor whilst eating if the sight of blood and discussing hunting offends you.

By the way, there are no animals killed in the movie, in spite of these discussions ; there are, however, a few deer heads mounted on walls, as one character is an avid hunter. There is an incidental anti-hunting message, but I'm not sure if it's intended as such.

There were very quick food scenes with turkey and such, but the movie doesn't dwell on that. 

The acting was convincing and moving as the romance grows, or runs into troubles. The dialogues were often poetic and touching, and one cannot stop but care as to this couple's plights as well as their ideal sentiments. 

The ageing, de-ageing, and actors/ actresses for character's different time periods were very made and cast. 

The colours were highly saturated and idealised, to remind us we're watching the story unfold from subjective points of view, and the cinematography was well coordinated.  I loved a certain field we see several times. 

The score was quite pretty and romantic, accompanying the narrative very well.

Cast : Eric Bana (who looks quite different than Nero in JJ Abrams' Star Trek reboot from the same year), Rachel McAdams, Ron Livingston, Michelle Nolden, Alex Ferris



The time traveller's wife... in the media

We watched this movie last night, on a region B bluray which had a beautiful image in full 1080p HD, in anamorphic wide screen 16/9, 2.35:1 format. It had Dolby TrueHD and Dolby digital, 5.1 English, with optional English SDH subtitles. 
Its EAN is 5017239151392. 


I suggest watching the bonus material only after reading the novel as they spoiled certain things, which I luckily didn't pay attention when they said them...



Featurettes: An Unconventional Love Story, The Time Traveler's Wife