Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

The Age of Adaline Blu-ray Movie Review

Eternal youth ain't for sissies.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 29, 2015

Eternal youth isn't all it’s cracked up to be would seem to be the moral of any number of tales told on both the small and large screens. Who amongst us hasn’t wished for time to stand still, especially once we reach a certain age, look in the mirror, and ask in wonder, “How (and/or when) the hell did that happen?” But as if to subliminally transmit the ameliorative message that staying young may not in fact be a panacea for any and all things that ail an individual soul, just about every story that features various characters in a state of perpetual vivacity tends to suggest that such a phenomenon comes at a substantial price. Sometimes that price is linked to exactly how eternal youth is obtained, as outlined in such vampirically themed outings like The Hunger or Innocence. The granddaddy (still looking mah-velous, of course) of such dramas, The Picture of Dorian Gray, went a step further, suggesting that the bargain to attain a callow state amounted to a Faustian deal with the Devil (or at least something close to it). Even offerings that shy away from the details on how such a state is attained tend to posit severe emotional repercussions not just for whomever is experiencing the circumstance, but for those around them as well, as detailed in the hokey but effective “Queen of the Nile” episode from The Twilight Zone: Season 5. "Queen of the Nile" actually shares a somewhat similar depiction of a perpetually fresh faced woman and her increasingly aging daughter (who ultimately looks like her own mother or in fact grandmother) to one shown in The Age of Adaline. Perhaps surprisingly, though, the not very surprising “reveal” in that Twilight Zone episode is eschewed here, and interestingly enough, The Age of Adaline doesn’t play around with obfuscating what’s going on with its titular character and in fact lays it all out, newsreel style, in the film’s opening moments.

Though she’s first seen as a young woman in contemporary San Francisco, it’s soon detailed that Adaline Bowman (Blake Lively), currently going by the name Jenny, was actually born on New Year’s Day 1908. Adaline’s life proceeded pretty much according to normal standards, including a marriage to a man working on the Golden Gate Bridge and, soon thereafter, the birth of their daughter Flemming (ultimately played as an elderly adult by Ellen Burstyn). A weird, tragic but seemingly cosmically influenced accident involving a car tumbling into frigid water and then being struck by a lightning bolt alters Adaline’s genetic makeup and keeps her in a temporal stasis from that point forward. It takes her a while to figure out what’s going on—at least insofar as she’s able to figure out, for as the film’s cheeky narration makes clear, the actual scientific reason behind her lack of aging will not be discovered until 2035. The whole opening sequences of The Age of Adaline play like the cinematic equivalent of an omniscient narrator in literature, and there is in fact (as has been mentioned) a narrator guiding the viewer through the somewhat circuitous set up. Director Lee Toland Krieger adds to this “from beyond” ethos by framing a number of early shots from directly overhead, as if the audience is part of some godly aggregation gazing down on its peculiar handiwork.

Adaline has been segueing from alias to alias through the decades of the 20th century, especially after she gets wise to the fact that people start to notice her lack of aging, and, later, that the government (in the form of the FBI) is apparently getting a little suspicious as well (a plot point that is dropped about as soon as it's presented). As her daughter moves through the years gaining the typical signs of age, Adaline stays “dormant,” so to speak, finally bidding her offspring goodbye and attempting at least to disappear into the woodwork. She is in fact getting ready to assume a new identity as the film opens, though events soon detour her plans.

At a New Year’s Eve party, Adaline meets cute with a guy named Ellis Jones (Michiel Huisman), and it’s obvious that it’s love at first sight, though of course Adaline is a bit uptight about divulging too much about herself. It’s at this point that things get “complicated,” to utilize that overused relationship descriptor. In a somewhat predictable and mawkish development, it turns out that Ellis’ father William (Harrison Ford) was a long ago suitor of Adaline’s, and he’s still obviously carrying the torch for her, though Adaline initially insists he’s mistaken about the nature of her identity. That sets up a potential love triangle of sorts that the film struggles fitfully at times to artfully resolve.

Performances elevate what is at times a kind of overly florid, melodramatic tale of unconsummated (or at least unrequited) love, though The Age of Adaline muddies its fantasy laden waters by ascribing a metaphysical angle to events that is probably not helpful and which is definitely not needed to establish its premise. Harrison Ford delivers one of his more enjoyable characterizations in some time as a man who is suddenly awash in a flood of memories, even as he’s gobsmacked by the eventual truth of Adaline’s state. Anthony Ingruber, who created something of a stir on YouTube with his Harrison Ford impressions some time ago, is also excellent as the young William in flashback material. The film gives in to a few too many contrivances, especially in its closing moments, but the general whimsy of its storyline propels things along in a generally involving, even compelling, manner.

The Age of Adaline Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Age of Adaline is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. As director Lee Toland Krieger mentions in his commentary, almost all of this film was digitally shot with the Red Epic, though there is a brief interstitial which he chose to do on 16mm (with a hand cranked camera, no less). There's been some subtle but consistent grading done throughout the film, once again in the seemingly inescapable buttery yellow and cool blue tones which are evidently de rigeur in current "color theory" for film. These choices are actually not as aggressively done as some might fear, and detail is never materially affected. The bulk of the film offers a very healthy and natural looking palette, and the image retains the excellent sharpness and clarity which has become a hallmark of Red shot features. Some of the CGI and/or green screen material looks very soft in comparison to the bulk of the presentation, something that tends to make some of the flashback material play in an almost dreamlike ambience at times. Contrast is consistent, though there are occasional moments of murk in some nighttime sequences.

The Age of Adaline Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Age of Adaline is the latest Blu-ray to offer a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 core) track, but one whose general sound design doesn't offer the sort of typical bombast that those wanting a completely immersive track may prefer. There are certainly moments of impressive surround activity, often replete with fantastic discretely placed sound effects and at times booming LFE, as in the calamitous car accidents which bookend the film, but this is in essence a romantic drama, and therefore fairly talky, an ambience which tends not to offer tons of traditional surround activity save for ambient environmental effects and score. Fidelity is top notch, offering crystal clear renderings across all frequency ranges, and dynamic range also is rather wide for a romantic drama, again courtesy of elements like the car crashes and "cosmic" events which play into the plot at various moments.

The Age of Adaline Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director Lee Toland Krieger. Krieger states he's aiming for the heights of a Paul Thomas Anderson or David Fincher commentary, and does a good, creditable job here, detailing good anecdotal and technical data on the making of the film.


• A Love Story for the Ages (1080p; 29:38) is an above average featurette with quite a bit of behind the scenes footage and some good interviews.


• Style Throughout the Ages (1080p; 18:19) focuses on production design.


• Discovering Young Harrison Ford: Anthony Ingruber, A YouTube Sensation (1080p; 8:19) profiles the young actor who bears an uncanny resemblance to Ford.


• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 4:30) play with a timecode caption.

The Age of Adaline Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Age of Adaline probably could have done without all of the cosmic portentousness which acts as a sort of subtext throughout the story. The basic setup is quite compelling in and of itself, even if it tends to ultimately recall such generational dramas as Edna Ferber's Come and Get It, where a man falls in love with the lookalike daughter of a woman he forsook years previously, and the young woman is caught between the desires of the father and his son, who is now in love with her as well. The film ultimately strains an already tenuous credulity by its third act, but things manage to stay on course due to some winning and heartfelt performances. Technical merits are generally first rate, and The Age of Adaline comes Recommended.