(SPOILER ALERT!)
Absolutely beautiful. Everything about this movie is just perfect. The casting is especially phenomenal. Not only because Adaline is played superbly by Blake Lively and Ellis is played amazingly by Michiel Huisman, but also because of the spot-on casting of Anthony Ingruber as a young William Jones, who has an uncanny resemblance to Harrison Ford… who plays the older William Jones. Ford is superb as William Jones, showing emotion that I haven’t seen from him in a long time.
Adaline is a young woman, who never ages a day more than where fate stepped in and caused a terrible accident, which saw her car veer off the road in a snowstorm and end up in water. The narrating throughout the film, especially in this scene, is a beautiful addition to the film and goes hand in hand with the cinematography on screen. After Adaline’s heart stops, lightning strikes her car, acting as a defibrillator. The lightning also did something else. It caused her to live forever, to always remain 29 years old.
We first meet Adaline in modern day, at which point she has a her own fluffy King Charles Spaniel. We get glimpses at the rest of her life throughout the film. First, we start looking at smaller moments in her life and then at larger and more detailed moments. The relationship between Adaline and William is a particular and very large portion of the film’s flashbacks. As Adaline’s daughter grows older, it becomes apparent that Adaline isn’t ageing, and we find out how Adaline was able to deal with this. We also see love blossom and grow between Adaline and a new man in her life, Ellis. Playing hard to get, Adaline doesn’t allow Ellis into her life at first, before her daughter (who’s looks physically older than her) convinces her to say yes to starting a relationship with Ellis. This relationship flows throughout the film, blooming and romantic, until one day, she meets his parents. This in itself is difficult, but then Adaline has the added problem that one of his parents is someone from her past.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I did notice, however, that in one particular scene, the film slightly differs to the trailer. That’s the only bad thing that I thought I would mention. Other than that, the film is absolutely perfect!
The Silver Screen Critic 