Reading the movie review of the film version of The Time Traveler's Wife, I was somewhat surprised at what the author wrote. In the review, the author had stated that. "You could think of it as a crazy story about a stalker who sweet-talks a little girl whom he later seduces when she’s a teenager only to then knock her up and emotionally, psychologically and spiritually knock her down again and again, as he hopscotches naked across the time-space continuum"(Dargis). Just at the start of the review, I already disagreed with the author. Through this quote I thought it was completely wrong. For me, when I read the book and watched the movie, I never thought of Henry being a "stalker", but rather a lost character who can't control his time travelling, especially if it included visiting Clare. He never even knew who she was until the day he went to visit her in the meadow. He also had no intention of "sweet-talking" Clare, because he just didn't want her telling her parents who he was, and she was the one that ended up falling for him the more he visited.
Something else I disagreed with in the article was when it stated, "It’s another thing entirely to watch the big, strapping, healthy Eric Bana groping the greens. It isn’t his fault. Indeed, watching Mr. Bana frequently strut his seminude stuff, nimbly avoiding the full-frontal reveal even as he flashes some discreet cheek, is one of the few pleasures afforded by this often ridiculous, awkward, unsatisfying and dour melodramatic adaptation"(Dargis). Although the author of the article was referring to the author who played Henry, the ending of this quote was what was disappointing. I do agree with the part in which the movie was "awkward', because the interaction some characters had proved it to be awkward, such as when Henry was talking to Clare's dad when they were about to get married or even talking to his own father. However, I would not go as far as calling the movie "ridiculous, unsatisfying and dour melodramatic" because the film was an adaption of the book, and although the film wasn't an entire portrayal of the book, the article's criticism of the film can also be an insult to the book.
The rest of the article continued to summarize what the movie was about, and then the author proceeded to compare say how good the movie was to the book. To be more exact, the last part of the article said, "Ms. Niffenegger grasps the melodramatic truism that tears sting the strongest when the audience feels as if it had lost something, which helps explain her sales. By contrast, the filmmakers shroud the movie in foreboding as Henry looks for some clothes, and you search for your smile" (Dargis). Here the author attempts to be humorous, and states in simple words that the book was a way bigger hit than the movie, because the book depicts everything about Henry and Clare, whereas the movie covers all the good and makes it seem "creepy".
Dargis, Manohla. "So Sorry, I Lost My Clothes Years Ago". New York Times 14 August 2009. Web. 25 February 2011
<http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/08/14/movies/14time.html>.
Friday, February 25, 2011
The Time Traveler's Wife [*Movie Reaction*]
Watching the film version of The Time Traveler's Wife, I was somewhat disappointed by it. There were a lot of differences portrayed in the movie starting from the beginning that made me realize it wouldn't capture at least half of what the book says. For example, in the beginning of the book, Clare meets Henry in the library after not having seeing him since her eighteenth birthday. However, in the movie, the beginning started off with the death of Henry's mother, and it skipped forwards then backwards on to the scene where Clare and Henry met. There was a sense of chronological events for a bit of the movie, but then it skipped right to when Henry decided to give Clare his mother's wedding and engagement rings.
Some other details that were slightly different would be the way in which the characters interacted with each other, and added parts that were only casually mentioned in the book. One example would be the date Clare and Henry had after their encounter in the library. In the book, Clare had mentioned a notebook in which Henry wrote down all the dates. However, there wasn't much depth to it, and it was only mentioned at least twice after that. In the movie, through the usage of a crane shot, Clare takes out that notebook and shows it to Henry, but it seems to have a bigger importance for Henry. Something else that was added would have to be the scene where Henry and Clare were in the park discussing how he time travels. Through the medium shot, Henry tells Clare how he ends up in places and how he feels about his time travelling.
The way the director told the story of the movie was a little bit too different from what the author portrayed. It is understood through the readers that time in the book jumps forward and backward through Henry. However, in the film, the passage of time gets only portrayed forwards. Through camera movement of pan and change of scene examples such as dissolve and fade, viewers of the film see the transformation of Alba from the moment in which she starts of as a baby to the day of her fifth birthday, as well as the scene in which Henry learns he will die. Everything in the movie happens too suddenly, and it only shows the struggles of Henry and Clare as something that will be done with soon, when in the book, it happens more often than expected.
The ending of the movie was far different than the ending of the book. In the book, through a letter left by Henry after his death, Clare learns that Henry time travelled to the future and saw Clare as an old lady. Also, since another Henry is out in time somewhere, he continues to visit his daughter, but can never visit Clare. In the end, the way Henry sees Clare is the exact same way he saw her when he time travelled. In the movie, everything is completely different. Through tilting the camera, Alba(at ten years old) sees Henry again after his death. It would have fit in with the book except that Alba has one of the kids she's playing with go and tell her mom that her father is there. Clare runs to the meadow and sees Henry for the first time after his death, which never ocurred in the book. As Henry disappeared and his clothes fell, through the camera zooming out we see Clare and Alba picking up his clothes and walking away together.
It upset me that at least a few more scenes should have been added to the movie, an example being that Henry should have found out that Gomez was in love with Clare just as he was in the book, or that Henry's ex Ingrid was never even put it as a character, but only mentioned once. Something that was portrayed well was the scene where, as Henry was dressed up as a girl and was beating up a guy because of it, he met Gomez, or rather, through camera moving in a pan, Gomez sees Henry, and here he tells Gomez he is a time traveller, and disappears right before his eyes. It may not been as exact as the book, but it was humorous nonetheless. Overall, although the movie varied greatly from the book, the movie portrayed more of the romance between Clare and Henry, which was nice to see through the unfolding of it all. Even though the book showed all the struggle this couple had, the romance was still seeping through, and although they varied greatly, the movie and book were great.
Some other details that were slightly different would be the way in which the characters interacted with each other, and added parts that were only casually mentioned in the book. One example would be the date Clare and Henry had after their encounter in the library. In the book, Clare had mentioned a notebook in which Henry wrote down all the dates. However, there wasn't much depth to it, and it was only mentioned at least twice after that. In the movie, through the usage of a crane shot, Clare takes out that notebook and shows it to Henry, but it seems to have a bigger importance for Henry. Something else that was added would have to be the scene where Henry and Clare were in the park discussing how he time travels. Through the medium shot, Henry tells Clare how he ends up in places and how he feels about his time travelling.
The way the director told the story of the movie was a little bit too different from what the author portrayed. It is understood through the readers that time in the book jumps forward and backward through Henry. However, in the film, the passage of time gets only portrayed forwards. Through camera movement of pan and change of scene examples such as dissolve and fade, viewers of the film see the transformation of Alba from the moment in which she starts of as a baby to the day of her fifth birthday, as well as the scene in which Henry learns he will die. Everything in the movie happens too suddenly, and it only shows the struggles of Henry and Clare as something that will be done with soon, when in the book, it happens more often than expected.
The ending of the movie was far different than the ending of the book. In the book, through a letter left by Henry after his death, Clare learns that Henry time travelled to the future and saw Clare as an old lady. Also, since another Henry is out in time somewhere, he continues to visit his daughter, but can never visit Clare. In the end, the way Henry sees Clare is the exact same way he saw her when he time travelled. In the movie, everything is completely different. Through tilting the camera, Alba(at ten years old) sees Henry again after his death. It would have fit in with the book except that Alba has one of the kids she's playing with go and tell her mom that her father is there. Clare runs to the meadow and sees Henry for the first time after his death, which never ocurred in the book. As Henry disappeared and his clothes fell, through the camera zooming out we see Clare and Alba picking up his clothes and walking away together.
It upset me that at least a few more scenes should have been added to the movie, an example being that Henry should have found out that Gomez was in love with Clare just as he was in the book, or that Henry's ex Ingrid was never even put it as a character, but only mentioned once. Something that was portrayed well was the scene where, as Henry was dressed up as a girl and was beating up a guy because of it, he met Gomez, or rather, through camera moving in a pan, Gomez sees Henry, and here he tells Gomez he is a time traveller, and disappears right before his eyes. It may not been as exact as the book, but it was humorous nonetheless. Overall, although the movie varied greatly from the book, the movie portrayed more of the romance between Clare and Henry, which was nice to see through the unfolding of it all. Even though the book showed all the struggle this couple had, the romance was still seeping through, and although they varied greatly, the movie and book were great.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The Time Traveler's Wife (Pgs.428-536) (**End of Book**)
Summary
In the concluding sections of the book, a lot of drama and tragedy occurs. Picking up from the last page, Clare begins narrating the new chapter by being in her studio, and thinking about how she hasn't seen Henry in 24 hours. Then, as she's drinking coffee, he shows up, and judging by the good mood he's in, she knows from what year he is coming from. They stay close and start talking, and then Clare confesses to Henry that while waiting to see him again, she made the mistake in sleeping with Gomez. Henry wasn't exactly super upset, because he did tell her to try and do what she could until they saw each other again. At the same time, he was sorta jealous. Then, to add a twist to the confession, Henry asked Clare how it was, and in the end, all was forgiven. Afterwards, the book seems to go back into the day where Clare actually slept with Gomez. The events play out to when Clare wakes up in the morning and realizes what she has done, and almost instantly feels bad in doing it because she thinks of Henry. As she starts crying into Gomez's arms, he asks her who is Henry, because she was talking in her sleep about him. Clare explains that he is her lover, and knowing that Gomez won't believe her, she takes out a picture of him, to which Gomez recognizes. He tells her he isn't good for her, based on the reputation he's heard of Henry, but Clare doesn't care. Here readers learn that this bothers Gomez because he's in love with Clare, and that it hurts him that she prefers to be with Henry. The memory concludes with Gomez kissing Clare, and her not stopping him, and then she leaves.
In the next flashback through time, Henry is with Ingrid, and he encounters Gomez. Of course, it's a younger Henry that hasn't met him, and when Gomez asks him about Clare, he has no idea who it is. The next thing that happens is that Charisse and Henry go to an opera, where she tells him that Gomez is in love with Clare, and that she's hoping he doesn't leave her, to which Henry responds that he won't. Following that, future Alba is with present Alba, and they are playing together. When future Alba sees Henry, she starts crying and runs to go hug him, while Henry whispers in her ear that Clare can't know that he dies. They then go out for ice cream and after that, future Alba disappears. When Clare tries figuring out what happened, Henry won't say anything.
Throughout the rest of the book, everything happens chronologically for a while. One day, Henry calls Henry because he's in the freezing cold, but then he disappears. That leads to one Henry having his feet amputated due to hypothermia and left in a wheelchair. Following that, it's Henry's birthday, and Clare decided to buy him an album by his mother. Then, Clare finds out that Henry had Alba get some sort of test so Dr.Kendrick can get working on if she will time travel as well or not. A long period of time after that, Henry finally teaches Clare how to cook, and then Henry time travels back to when Ingrid commits suicide. Henry's time to dying is approaching, but he still won't tell Clare how or when. Henry's death comes on New Years, when in the past he gets shot by a rifle by Clare's dad, who must have thought Henry was an animal when he was hunting. He comes back and is bleeding, and he dies surrounded by Clare and Alba. After that, Clare becomes depressed, and then reads a letter Henry left her in which he tells her he time travelled into the future, and sees her as an old lady. However, there is still another Henry out there that visits his daughter, but not Clare. Clare ends up almost sleeping with Gomez again, if it weren't for Charisse coming home. She did this thinking it was Henry because she's still waiting or him. The book concludes with Henry seeing Clare again as an old lady, just like he had before.
Quote
"Tonight I feel that my love for you has more density in this world than I do, myself; as though it could linger on after me and surround you, keep you, hold you" (Niffenegger 519).
Reaction
Through the conclusion of the book, a lot of things occured that kept the reader very interested. The book went in a better chronological order, with Henry's time traveling better understood. The change of narrators still occurs, and the suspense of readers knowing that Henry knows when he is going to die but Clare doesn't leaves readers wondering if she will ever find out, until the day of his death, where he tells her it's time. Although it's very upsetting that Henry dies, there is still some comfort that there's another Henry that Clare has to wait for.
This quote came from the letter that Henry left Clare before his death, in which he expresses all his feelings. I liked this part of the letter because it's so sweet how much love existed between him and Clare. Although he later states in the letter that he has been an "uncertain husband", it's still sweet how even through all that, their relationship would be something they both could always treasure. It's also sweet that, just through venting thoughts and feelings, his love for her continues to grow. It proves that even if they get separated, their love will never end, because somewhere out in time exists another Henry, that loves Clare just as much as this Henry does. It's a love story that couldn't have been better told.
In the concluding sections of the book, a lot of drama and tragedy occurs. Picking up from the last page, Clare begins narrating the new chapter by being in her studio, and thinking about how she hasn't seen Henry in 24 hours. Then, as she's drinking coffee, he shows up, and judging by the good mood he's in, she knows from what year he is coming from. They stay close and start talking, and then Clare confesses to Henry that while waiting to see him again, she made the mistake in sleeping with Gomez. Henry wasn't exactly super upset, because he did tell her to try and do what she could until they saw each other again. At the same time, he was sorta jealous. Then, to add a twist to the confession, Henry asked Clare how it was, and in the end, all was forgiven. Afterwards, the book seems to go back into the day where Clare actually slept with Gomez. The events play out to when Clare wakes up in the morning and realizes what she has done, and almost instantly feels bad in doing it because she thinks of Henry. As she starts crying into Gomez's arms, he asks her who is Henry, because she was talking in her sleep about him. Clare explains that he is her lover, and knowing that Gomez won't believe her, she takes out a picture of him, to which Gomez recognizes. He tells her he isn't good for her, based on the reputation he's heard of Henry, but Clare doesn't care. Here readers learn that this bothers Gomez because he's in love with Clare, and that it hurts him that she prefers to be with Henry. The memory concludes with Gomez kissing Clare, and her not stopping him, and then she leaves.
In the next flashback through time, Henry is with Ingrid, and he encounters Gomez. Of course, it's a younger Henry that hasn't met him, and when Gomez asks him about Clare, he has no idea who it is. The next thing that happens is that Charisse and Henry go to an opera, where she tells him that Gomez is in love with Clare, and that she's hoping he doesn't leave her, to which Henry responds that he won't. Following that, future Alba is with present Alba, and they are playing together. When future Alba sees Henry, she starts crying and runs to go hug him, while Henry whispers in her ear that Clare can't know that he dies. They then go out for ice cream and after that, future Alba disappears. When Clare tries figuring out what happened, Henry won't say anything.
Throughout the rest of the book, everything happens chronologically for a while. One day, Henry calls Henry because he's in the freezing cold, but then he disappears. That leads to one Henry having his feet amputated due to hypothermia and left in a wheelchair. Following that, it's Henry's birthday, and Clare decided to buy him an album by his mother. Then, Clare finds out that Henry had Alba get some sort of test so Dr.Kendrick can get working on if she will time travel as well or not. A long period of time after that, Henry finally teaches Clare how to cook, and then Henry time travels back to when Ingrid commits suicide. Henry's time to dying is approaching, but he still won't tell Clare how or when. Henry's death comes on New Years, when in the past he gets shot by a rifle by Clare's dad, who must have thought Henry was an animal when he was hunting. He comes back and is bleeding, and he dies surrounded by Clare and Alba. After that, Clare becomes depressed, and then reads a letter Henry left her in which he tells her he time travelled into the future, and sees her as an old lady. However, there is still another Henry out there that visits his daughter, but not Clare. Clare ends up almost sleeping with Gomez again, if it weren't for Charisse coming home. She did this thinking it was Henry because she's still waiting or him. The book concludes with Henry seeing Clare again as an old lady, just like he had before.
Quote
"Tonight I feel that my love for you has more density in this world than I do, myself; as though it could linger on after me and surround you, keep you, hold you" (Niffenegger 519).
Reaction
Through the conclusion of the book, a lot of things occured that kept the reader very interested. The book went in a better chronological order, with Henry's time traveling better understood. The change of narrators still occurs, and the suspense of readers knowing that Henry knows when he is going to die but Clare doesn't leaves readers wondering if she will ever find out, until the day of his death, where he tells her it's time. Although it's very upsetting that Henry dies, there is still some comfort that there's another Henry that Clare has to wait for.
This quote came from the letter that Henry left Clare before his death, in which he expresses all his feelings. I liked this part of the letter because it's so sweet how much love existed between him and Clare. Although he later states in the letter that he has been an "uncertain husband", it's still sweet how even through all that, their relationship would be something they both could always treasure. It's also sweet that, just through venting thoughts and feelings, his love for her continues to grow. It proves that even if they get separated, their love will never end, because somewhere out in time exists another Henry, that loves Clare just as much as this Henry does. It's a love story that couldn't have been better told.
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