I have always loved Blake Lively, from before she showed up as our main character in Gossip Girl she has been one of my favorite actresses. Getting to see Blake Lively headline a movie, for what seems like in forever, is a treat in and of itself. The Age of Adaline was a beautifully scripted film, her pain from agelessness is something that we can identify with even though it is realistically impossible. That’s a sign of a good script, great director, and an actor who knows how to pull from the material given them to bring a character to life. It’s a process that we don’t always get to glimpse at, but when the finished product is good you know deep down that it all went in the right direction.
Adaline is a young woman, the first birth in 1908, and she grows up as an ordinary person, who marries, has a child, and then dies. It’s the last part, however, that is anything but ordinary. Her death is completely final until a bolt of lightning strikes her car, submerged in water, and does something to her body that will cease the ravages of time, as our narrator put it so eloquently. Unfortunately, being ageless has its drawbacks. While we only see it happen a few times, it’s clear that when someone questions her youth and beauty, which are those of a woman in her twenties when she is supposed to be in her forties, that Adaline finally realizes there is something different about her. It is completely cemented for her when a police officer pulls her over, doesn’t believe her and confiscates her driver’s license. This begins our tale, as Adaline moves to a new place for the first time only to learn her first mistake, always change your name.
Adaline lives decade after decade, changing her name and slightly altering her appearance so that she can go through her seemingly endless life without issue. But as you can imagine, this is a lonely existence for a person, and when you have to go through life watching the ones you love die that loneliness is only emphasized.
This is a dramatic romance, through and through, despite the fantasy elements interlaced with it, it is clear that this movie only uses it to enhance its plot rather than detract from it.
Michiel Huisman plays Ellis, the most recent man to capture Adaline’s affections and the romance that primarily drives the plot of the film. Harrison Ford, Ellen Burstyn, and Amanda Crew are supporting players in this film, and while each has their part they are minor when compared to Blake Lively and Michiel Huisman, as is per use in a romance film.
Lloydd Marshall Books 