The Age of Adaline (2015)

My initial interest in the movie wasn't very high from the previews but the offer of a free screening lead me to study the preview a little more. I decided to order the free tickets if they were still available in my area. I was blessed to get 2 tickets. I was pleasantly surprised with the film throughout and my friend enjoyed it also. I liked it so well that I plan to buy the bluray when it comes out. I like to collect nice romances for future reviewing. I initially thought a few characters didn't look much like their parents but as the movie played out it was not a problem for me. Their acting was so good I could over look that. Blake Lively did an excellent acting job in the movie. I was impressed with Harrison Ford's acting in the movie. In summary I enjoyed the movie very much. I enjoyed the clean crisp time period photography. I would consider this a good date movie.

Fmovies: No wise man ever wished to be younger." Jonathan Swift Walking into the cinema... Intrigueing is the word that comes to mind with The Age of Adaline. It is hard to categorise this film. Is it fantasy, a romance, a philosophical exercise, or a combination of them all? Overall rating: 3.5 stars Cinematic value: 3 stars Big Questions value: 4 stars What would you do if you were to remain 29 years of age for the rest of your life? Some might think that this would be ideal, while others would consider this to be a horrifying experience. This is the life of Adaline Bowman (Blake Lively). Through a series of fantastic phenomena, she has remained as a 29 year old for eight decades. She has to experience a life of solitude and separation, because she cannot age with those that she is closest to in her life. Her life is veiled in secrecy, until she meets Ellis Jones (Michiel Huisman), a philanthropist who ignites her passion for life and unknowingly he is a link to her past. What seems to be an innocent weekend away, becomes a crossroads for the truth and a chance for her to decide what she will do with the rest of her life. I will admit it, a good romance is a joy to experience. Romances may not be my favourite genre, but they have their place in cinematic history. The Age of Adeline will not win awards for groundbreaking film making, but it does fill a void in this year's celluloid offerings. It is a good, straight forward, romantic journey. Even with the fantasy element of eternal youth, this was a good film for the romantic at heart. It can get a bit sappy, but it is a satisfying tale. Indie director Lee Toland Krieger (Celeste and Jesse Forever) is able to incorporate a level of geekiness to satisfy any male audience members without sacrificing the primary storyline. His measured style develops a believability of this inventive story. Kreiger hearkens back to the beautiful romances of bygone eras, where subtlety and magnificent cinematography aid in delivering a beautiful romance. With the same level of measured performance, Blake Lively is excellent as the lead. She portrays the melancholy of a woman who lives with the mind of an elderly woman trapped in a perpetually young body. She allows herself to fall for Ellis, who is an old soul in a young man's body. Huisman brings a depth of character that makes this relationship right for both of them. One of the challenges of decade jumping films is the ageing of key characters, but Kreiger manages to make this element convincing. From the excellent supporting performances from Harrison Ford and Ellen Burstyn to the young actors that portrayed them in earlier decades, these characters were convincing and do not cause any distraction. Admittedly, the unfortunate component of watching this genre is the anticipation of sappiness or the inevitable tragedy. The Age of Adaline is a romance and contains some of these inevitable trappings, but due to the melancholy of the lead character and the control she has to shoulder for eight decades, this tale contains the bitter sweetness needed to move beyond the syrupy elements of many good hearted romances. Which leaves the verdict that Kreiger delivers an appealing and enjoyable romance. Before the opening sequence, this romantic adventure provides some of the best discussion points in recent cinema. In our era of desired eternal youth or the desire to merely appearing young, The Age of Adaline allows the audience to see the curse that this gift can be on anyone's life. It helps that

Ever wonder what its like not to age? I know I have, but I never can grasp all the factors that come about with immortality, especially in terms of love and relationships. Well my friends, we have the good fortune to get movies to give us a glimpse, and this weekend it is in the form of the Age of Adaline. This romantic drama has some potential to be an interesting romance story, but one must heed caution when watching trailers. So let's get started on this review shall we.

When I said interesting, I really meant it, as Age of Adaline is a unique story that centers on immortality. Our heroine doesn't drink some mystical potion, or undergoes some futuristic operation, but is somehow mutated by a rogue lightning bolt striking the river. All of this is explained in the first 10 minutes, in a hasty montage that sums up her life, which while time efficient left me a little robbed. I didn't want them to take forever, but a gradual build up of her life pre accident would have given this tale some more depth. Oh well it means we get to the romance aspect of the story faster. This film's relationships were a bit awkward for me, and a bit hastily developed at first. Her main romance goes nowhere due to fear, and only a few cute dates give us any hope something will happen. But then movie magic hits like lightning and expedites the romance to warp speed.

Regardless of how fast we get to it though, the romance in this movie is not the greatest. Sure it has its cute moments, emphasizing creativity and thoughtfulness in dating, with a little historical twist in it. There is some heartfelt, overemotional dialogue thrown in to feign love, but this movie didn't sell me in their relationship. However, Adaline's past runs interference into the relationship, and takes precedence over her life at hand. Fortunately what love we did see was not portrayed as superficial sex that many modern movies like to show.

The movie's main focus instead is about living life and pushing past your fears, especially ones addressing the concept of life. Age of Adaline has some really depressing moments and left me feeling down in the dumps. Many of the problems she flees from may get in your head, but do provide some good food for thought and philosophical discussions. Yet you will see some overdramatic, spanned out plot lines in this movie that start to grow stale.

Story aside, the editing of this movie is decent. Despite the 100 minute running tme, they still had some issues in terms of pacing and extra scenes. I felt the film cuts through a lot of Adaline's history, choosing to relive her moments via hastily done flashbacks and narrator monologues. Other times it drags on an issue, moving like molasses down a hill to get to the conclusion. As for extra scenes, well a few morbid parts could have been snipped out of the final cut, or at least replaced with some happier moments in the grand scheme of things. Despite all the extra fluff, one consistency is the camera work, which captures the emotion of our characters to illicit the intended response. Each age is well designed, makeup, costumes, and scenery all well combined to bring the world to life.

However the acting may be the component that this movie relies on the most. Blake Lovely, I'm sorry, Lively was indeed a beautiful addition to this movie in both acting and physical qualities. She carried a pristine poise that mimicked the personalities of the attitudes back then, and yet she was somehow humble. Lively shed a good amount of te

The Age of Adaline fmovies. The acting in this I cannot fault, though Adeline has a very low range of emotions given the material, her demure persona is a sign of the times in which she was raised. Perhaps it was the stiff upper lip if the early 20th century? I have never seen the male lead and he suited his part well.

I watched this with my mother and daughters ( sobbing continued on both sides with both generations for different reasons, but both centred around loss). I felt torn, suitably watching this with both generations, as to what part of the film affected me most. Those with children and aging parents will understand when viewing this.

The soundtrack was beautiful and the song played during the most emotive scenes is both beautiful and haunting enough for me to seek it out.

A beautiful movie, which is a little in the fantasy realm in its explanation behind the mortality/immortality aspect which makes it almost fairy tale like, but beautifully executed, and gorgeously told. See it with your mother or daughter, or like I did, both! Take your tissues!

Cast chosen are all well suited to the characters; they performed as if the story was theirs to share ~ A love story that will test the assumptions of viewers.

Enjoyable, well acted, well done. A plausible plot supported by characters and settings that make plausible more than probable.

Our preview audience appeared surprised at the chance to see a great cast in a simple story of love. Laughter because Harrison Ford holds a mirror to the lives of the audience, and we see ourselves. Blake Lively never gives us a hint of deviation from her assumed promise.

Lots of historical fact that interests rather than bores the mind, and never obscures the journey we're following with the characters. Michiel Huisman plays innocence with persistence, grace, and a smile; we laugh and cheer him on. Ellen Burstyn plays a subtle catalyst role. Kathy Baker always seems to pull the characters together, and none of the cast can take away our interest from the science and character of Adaline. I'll see it again, in the theater for the larger than life characters. Thanks crew, staff, and actors.

I have been looking forward to this film because of the story line. There are so many things to like about it - the flashbacks are well done and so believable. The costumes are so fun to watch. I do not think I have seen Blake Lively act before and I was clearly entranced by her performance. She carries the film so well and is so quiet and well done. I liked the actors - Michaeil Haisman is gorgeous and believable. Harrison Ford - so happy to see him in a movie again - and he is also believable as the father of Ellis. Elen Burnstyn is delightful. This story could have been presented in such a different manner - director Lee Toland Kreiger got it, and it is beautiful story-telling. I love the last scene.