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SCREEN IT!
Time after time: Leaden adaptation misses who, what and why
BY MATT BRUNSON
literary classic becomes a cinematic clunker with A Wrinkle in Time ( ), the ambitious but ultimately disappointing adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s lovely 1962 novel. Remaining faithful enough to the plot of the book, this screen version finds Meg Murry (Storm Reid), still understandably upset over the disappearance of her scientist father (Chris Pine) four years earlier, being handed an opportunity to locate him thanks to the involvement of three celestial beings. Introduced to Meg and her friend Calvin (Levi Miller) by her younger brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe), the trio of Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey), Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon) and Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) informs the children that Dr. Murry vanished upon discovering that the fabric of time and space can fold on itself. But Dr. Murry is now being held prisoner by an evil interstellar entity known simply as “It,” and with the members of The Losers’
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Club off in their own movie, it’s up to these comparable outcasts to save the day — and the universe. Ava DuVernay, who earned an Oscar nomination for the mesmerizing documentary 13th and should have earned one for the powerful drama Selma, seems paralyzed with reverence for the source material, as her direction is atypically muted and her set-pieces alarmingly flat. For a film that traffics in imagination and phantasmagorical sights, A Wrinkle in Time is surprisingly cumbersome in its visual splendor, with much of the film caught in a chokehold that’s mercilessly being applied by impersonal and deadening visual effects. Worse, most of the actors are urged to deliver their dialogue in monotonous
rather than melodious waves, none more so than poor Storm Reid. Winfrey sounds like she’s already practicing for a presidential run, speaking her words in measured and drowsy tones, while Kaling’s Mrs. Who barely registers as a character. Only Witherspoon seems to be having any fun in her role, providing the picture with some much-needed pep (and until his character turns into a more verbose version of Pet Sematary’s Gage in the third act, McCabe also adds some life to the proceedings with his boyish enthusiasm). A Wrinkle in Time is recommended for children, who will enjoy its colorful palette and benefit from its messages involving individuality, self-worth, anti-bullying, and other notable pursuits. But for the adults who accompany them, their only interest in Time will be in determining how much of it remains before the closing credits begin their roll. A-LIST ACTORS CUTTING LOOSE is the prime draw of Gringo ( ), an irreverent comedy in which Charlize Theron mocks the deaf, Joel Edgerton informs a Mexican that “Yo quiero Taco Bell,” and David Oyelowo is shown gettin’ jiggy wit it. Oyelowo, Selma’s MLK, here plays Harold Soyinka, who, when he’s not busy singing along to Will Smith in his car, is being played the patsy by practically everyone around him. Too nice for this world, the sweet and trusting Harold works for bosses (Edgerton and Theron) ready to sell him out, loves a wife (Thandie Newton) who’s been cheating behind his back, and runs afoul of a powerful drug lord
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known as (with apologies to Marvel) The Black Panther (Carlos Corona). The only decent person he encounters during his disaster-plagued business trip to Mexico is a fellow American named Sunny (Amanda Seyfried) — he might be able to trust a cheery mercenary (Sharlto Copley) who unexpectedly arrives on the scene, but he’s not entirely certain. A hot mess of a movie, Gringo initially maintains interest with its various twists and turns. But as the film progresses, the storyline splinters rather than gels, and the climax is the usual standardprocedure car chase followed by the usual standard-issue shootout. Still, the picture nevertheless benefits from its engaging roster of actors, including Oyelowo in an immensely likable turn. Best of all, though, is Theron, who has lately been testing her action credentials with the likes of Atomic Blonde and Mad Max: Fury Road. This time, she prefers to flex her comedic muscles, resulting in a ferociously funny performance that takes no prisoners. THE NEWLY ANOINTED Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, the Chilean import A Fantastic Woman ( ) tells the story of Marina (an excellent Daniela Vega), a waitress who’s the partner of the affluent and older Orlando (Francisco Reyes). Late one night, Orlando discovers he doesn’t feel well, and it isn’t long after being taken to the hospital that he passes away. Everyone is allowed to mourn in proper fashion after Orlando’s death — his exwife, his brother, his children. Everyone, that is, except Marina. Because she’s a trans woman, she is treated horribly by almost everyone she encounters. She’s bullied by one of Orlando’s grown kids. She’s badgered by an investigator whose specialty is sex crimes. And she’s forbidden by Orlando’s disgusted ex-wife from attending his funeral. Writer-director Sebastián Lelio indulges in a couple of flights of fancy during the course of A Fantastic Woman, but they’re superfluous moments that really aren’t required. This is a movie that’s at its best when it operates simply and without flourish, satisfied merely to point out the awfulness of people when they refuse to show basic human decency toward those who are different. Like Get Out, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and other 2017 Oscar-entrusted peers, it’s a movie of the moment, similarly pleading for hope and change against formidable, unfortunate odds. !
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