I cannot remember the last time I saw a movie with high expectations because of the trailers and ended up leaving the cinema feeling disappointed. I will straight-up say this but the film A Wrinkle in Time showed not a bit of the excitement its trailer boasted. Hear me out.
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A Wrinkle in Time? More like a crumple.
Whenever I enter the cinema to see a movie, I tend to forget every feedback or early reviews that I have read about it as it may affect my experience. The only ones that I keep in mind are its promotional materials- trailers, write-ups, and all. I did the same for A Wrinkle in Time. In fact, the trailer and the cast alone already put the movie on my list of most anticipated 2018 films. With Ava DuVernay directing the film, what could go wrong? Apparently, a lot.
DuVernay is a visionary director who worked on several notable films in Hollywood such as Selma. I will speak as someone who has not read the book and base his judgement off the film itself. DuVernay added a flair for the spectacle in the movie. The worlds she created on screen were nothing short of fantastic. Sadly, though,the visual feast did not save the sinking boat that is this film. It only compromised the narrative.
For an audience trying to absorb the events unfolding on screen, instead of giving resolutions, the film convoluted things up by jumping from a sequence to another. In the end, it just left loose ends that had the viewers saying, “What happened? Why did that happen? I give up.”
Rain of Rainbows
Don’t get me wrong. I am all for empowerment, representation, and inspiration- no matter which form of media they may come from. In fact, supporting them is part of my advocacy. A Wrinkle in Time became a piece for it, very much like any other films that came out recently. I took no issue with it until it became too much.
At the core of the film’s plot is finding the light from within to fight the darkness that lies ahead. It is the typical good vs evil plot device. Knowing that the film is targeted towards the younger audience and inspiring them to do good is one thing but for the adult audiences, that felt a little too preachy. To a point, it felt like watching the movie adaptation of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Everything felt too saccharine that I expected rainbows and glitters to fall off the sky any moment in the film.
The intentions of the film are prominent- embrace who you really are and do good. The problem lies with how it came across. The story felt rushed and preachy. It also had a difficulty in setting which tone it is going to take that it wobbled for nearly two-thirds of the film. It is a shame that a project with such a notable director and interesting cast starred in a film that plateaued till the end. I’d hate to say this but we might just have another John Carter or Tomorrowland in our hands.
Director: Ava DuVernay
Cast: Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Storm Reid, Chris Pine
Binge-level: 2.5 out of 5 stars
