Age of Adaline (2015)
Certified: 12A
Duration: 112 minutes
Directed by: Lee Toland Krieger
Starring: Blake Lively, Michiel Huisman, Harrison Ford, Ellen Burstyn, Kathy Baker, Amanda Crew, Lynda Boyd, Anjali Jay, Richard Harmon, Barclay Hope, Chris William Martin
KRS Releasing Ltd
Adaline (Blake Lively) was born in 1908 but in her 20s, her life changed forever. She was involved in a car accident and ended up in the icy cold water, only to be struck by lightning which brought her back to life. From that day onwards Adaline stopped ageing, and today when she is 107 years old, her daughter Flemming (Ellen Burstyn) looks as old as her grandmother.
Over time, Adaline tried to not enter into any bonds of romance as she knew she would never be able to grow old with her chosen partner. During her lifetime, she moved continuously across the US and changed her appearance and identity to make sure nobody noticed her and investigated her.
At the moment, she has returned to San Francisco using a different name. As Jennifer Ellison she meets philantropist Ellis Jones (Michiel Huisman) and even though she tries to push him away, he becomes more and more attracted to her. Despite all her efforts she ends up falling in love with him. That is when she realises something....
His parents William and Connie (Harrison Ford and Kathy Baker) are about to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary, which is also going to be attended by Kiki (Amanda Crew), Ellis’s sister. Problems arise since William knows Adaline, as she had been involved with him in the past.
The Age of Adaline could be termed to be the female version of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and makes for an ideal fantasy date movie. The Age of Adaline walks in the same trend of David Fincher’s picture as it too is a classy production, has star power and comes along with a very strong sense of prestige to it. It manages to sweep its audience with it who will certainly pleased as it mines nostalgia, heartache and drama.
This is the kind of movie that shows how much Hollywood is starting to realise that from a business point of view it’s very important to target the female demographic in the audience and to take them seriously as consumers.
Ford delivers a very strong performance as an aged man who is still in love with a woman from his past. He is the movie’s revelation as here he is very convincing in what is an unfamiliar genre for him. His presence here is much more muscular than anything else he has recently delivered on screen.
Lively makes the movie screen come alive with her screen goddess style: she takes us back in time to Hollywood’s Golden Age when the female stars where simply iconic. The way the production has presented her, with the attention and detail lavished on her image, make-up, hairstyle and wardrobe completely reinforces this image, which I found to be very pleasing. Her mix of low-key and yet strongly-staged screen presence anchors the movie.
Overall, this picture feels good and yet is different from the usual Nicholas Sparks movie adaptations offer.