Promising "The Age of Adaline" Ultimately Disappoints

DETROIT (WWJ) – "The Age of Adaline" is an ambitious movie with a creative plot, but there are just too many small things that add up and detract from it.

Adaline Bowman is happily married with a young daughter when she's involved in a car accident that could have taken her life. Instead, her life is saved and, miraculously, she stops aging.

To avoid becoming a government "experiment," she decides not to spend too much time in one place, so as a result, she never lets anyone get too close to her.

 

It's understandable that a person who found him or herself in such a position may not find too much to smile about, but Blake Lively who stars as Adaline, maintains the same monotone delivery throughout the entire movie.

Another issue I had with the movie is the script. It is, of course, the screenwriter's prerogative to write the script his/her way, but – since anyone who's seen the trailer knows that Harrison Ford is in the movie – why not make his character, William Jones, a close friend? The way it's written is just too far out in left field for my taste. If you don't know what I mean, you will when/if you decide to see the movie.

I also had a problem with the mother/daughter relationship. Considering what both of them were going through, where were all the tears? How could a woman who had endured so much loss and so much pain, not shed a tear when she saw her daughter -- who had grown and aged to look like her mother's grandmother?

This is one movie that, despite having so much potential, ended up falling flat and leaving this moviegoer disappointed.

See you at the movies!

Be sure to tune in to WWJ Newsradio 950 every Friday for my weekly look at the movies with Midday Anchor Jackie Paige.

Follow Terri on Twitter @TerriJLee

Member:
Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA)
Detroit Film Critics Society (DFCS)
African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA)
Digital Arts, Film & Television (DAFT)
National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ)

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