The Time Traveler’s Wife Review - A waste of time?

Walking into “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” I had a few reservations formed based on the trailer.  While it looked like a decent enough premise for a romantic movie, the allure of time travel was enough to coax the nerd in me into the theatre.

The premise is interesting to say the least.  A man named Henry (Eric Bana) was born with a genetic mutation that causes him to sporadically time travel.  Sometimes he goes to the future, and other times he goes to the past, and while his jumps happen at random times, he often finds himself appearing in the same few locations.

As luck (or fate as the film alludes to) would have it, Henry encounters a young woman named Clare (Rachel McAdams) who knows all sorts of things about Henry.  She explains to Henry that he will meet her as a young girl and they will continue to meet for quite some time.  Present Henry hasn’t met young Clare yet, but quickly realizes there’s a special connection between the two.

If that last paragraph was a tad confusing, well, so is the film.  For Back to the Future or Terminator fans who are used to dealing with multiple storylines tied to overlapping times, it’s easy enough to follow, but the casual audience may have to turn off their thinking caps and try to take things in on a base level.

As the title and trailer imply, Henry and Clare eventually marry and try to continue a relationship despite Henry’s affliction.  The film does a good job of mixing the comedic and dramatic issues variables of time travel, with some more impactful than others. 

When a ruggedly handsome, twenty something Henry disappears right before the wedding and a slightly gray haired Henry shows up at the Nick of time, you can’t help but laugh.  On the flipside, much more serious issues show some surprising character depth.  Like when Henry and Clare repeatedly try to have a child which is nearly impossible given they inherit Henry’s condition.

What starts off as a somewhat stiff relationship eventually blossoms into the kind of romance that wives the world over will enjoy sobbing to.  And that’s the film’s ultimate obstacle to overcome.  Henry’s condition draws so much attention that you can at times forget about the character of Clare.  But when all is said and done, it’s Clare who has matured the most as a character, showing a substantial amount of development.

So if you’re taking that special someone to a romantic night at the picture show, “The Time Traveller’s Wife” will make for a heartfelt outing.  And if my waxing and waning lost you at any point, just know that you get to see Eric Bana’s butt… a lot. 

-          By Adam Ballard