Immortality is a myth. This is a fact not only based on a reality standpoint, but also literarily. Ask anybody the first thing which crosses their minds when discussing the subject, and most likely mythical beings such as wizards, witches, vampires or superheroes would top the list. In years gone by, we have been taken into a deep character study of the good and bad of immortality through iconic characters like sorceress Morgan le Fay from the folktale King Arthur to our beloved Krypton-born man in cape from the Superman comics. All in all, the theme’s close association with medieval times and fantasy grounds makes realism the most unsuspecting territory it would ever visit.
In mid-2015, Lee Toland Krieger’s The Age of Adaline tries to prove that two contrasting themes can attract. Widely heralded as a chick flick, the least people expect from Adaline is to be an improvement over the popular but critically-derided Twilight saga. With similar genre and theme fusion, the eventual pageantry of brooding vampires was more renowned as a money-making object of ridicule. Surely, that ridicule part is something Adaline would try to avoid.
Bogged down by stereotypical characters and clichéd storytelling, though, The Age of Adaline slightly falls into the same trap. Still, it manages to just steer clear thanks solely to Blake Lively’s virtuoso leading performance.
The 29-year old Centenarian
The Age of Adaline simply details the curious life of the titular character Adaline Bowman (Blake Lively). How curious? Based on the first five-to-ten minutes of the film, Adaline’s life seemingly fits every description but curious. Being just an ordinary, hardworking woman, she is no different to the other working-class types in the today’s world. It is one long-kept secret that can be best described as curious: a freak car accident trapped Adaline in her young, beautiful physique. When peers and relatives from her generation naturally age, Adaline is bound to live the rest of her life as a 29-year old.
Consequentially, what is every diabolical witch’s greatest wish is soon becoming Adaline’s curse. Her special ability gradually separates her from social life, forcing her to leave all her past behind and assume new lives. Her days of running away would come to a halt when she stumbles across philanthropist Ellis Jones (Michiel Huisman). For all her attempts to resist love, the small run-in soon becomes exactly that. Little by little, her budding romance with Ellis slowly sees all her past memories unraveled.
Modern Fairy Tale
Reading through the film’s premise, it can be said that The Age of Adaline is a unique take on the immortality subject. Still, as unique as the premise may sound, Adaline itself cannot shy away from its fairy tale-inspired narrative. As much as it favors realism, J. Miles Goodloe and Salvador Paskowitz’s script has such syrupy fairy tale flavor inside. It is not just the use of narrator-type voiceover in the background, but also when you analogize some key points from Adaline’s narrative with the underlying elements found on several fairy tale classics, and realize that they actually bear close resemblance.
Imagine for a second a story of a princess who got lost walking by herself along a treacherous forest and as a result, a witch’s curse cast upon her leads her to a life of isolation and slow death. At the end of the day, there emerges a handsome prince around the corner who will swoop into the princess’ rescue to realize the true love’s kiss scenario. Now, link those up with narrative elements from Adaline such as the titular character itself, the car accident, bolt of lightning, living an immortal life and also the emergence of Ellis, and surely it all fits like puzzle pieces.
By then, it would not require too much extensive back-stories to associate the characters in Adaline with popular personalities from several fairy tale classics. We already know from the offset that Adaline is the princess and Ellis is the prince in this tale and so, it only takes a split-second to figure out that Ellis’ parents William and Kathy Jones are the king and queen, respectively. Even Adaline’s aging daughter Flemming is the princess’ most trusted companion during her down times. Somewhere along the line, you are already wondering: where is the Evil Queen/Witch in this tale?
Beauty is the Evil Queen/Witch
As mentioned before, Adaline is a unique take on the immortality subject, and its take on the Evil Queen/Witch stereotype is where the uniqueness truly takes place. Rather than showing the villain frontally, Goodloe and Paskowitz smartly explore the Princess v. Evil Queen/Witch struggle on a spiritual perspective. In this case, Adaline’s immortal beauty assumes the Queen/Witch role. By doing this, identifying Adaline’s struggle as something psychological makes her a character with stronger personality over the usual damsels-in-distress stereotype. Adaline’s streetwise view of things, especially beauty, alone exemplifies that.
Though, that is as much as the screenwriting duo can offer in uniqueness. All the solid groundwork they have laid on to bring Adaline’s personality into silver screen life reverts back to derivative territory in terms of its supporting characters and storytelling. From seeing a figure of emancipation in its titular character, the majority of the supporting characters seem like carbon copies of its inspiration. The duo’s attempt at humanizing these supporting characters cannot go unnoticed, but the lack of character depth beyond Adaline keeps them firmly under that unflattering stereotype. That sense of stereotype also impacts its narrative. Believably executed by director Lee Toland Krieger as a film, Adaline’s narrative structure just goes with the fairy tale flow. Rather than putting a twist in the genre, it stuck by its gun to such a predictable result.
Underrated princess Adaline
Age of Adaline would not come to life without the strong personality of its titular character. To that end, Blake Lively soars. Let’s put things into perspective and say the script’s deep exploration into the character serves as a solid guideline for the actress. Still, theory cannot work without practice. Lively’s performance does not just practically work, but she also takes on the role with such bewitching aplomb. Some might jump the gun and say it is unarguably the highlight of her film career.
As we all know, Adaline is not the typical Disney princesses. While undoubtedly as beautiful as one, Lively’s realistic take on the princess myth also conveys the sort of brokenness and independent woman attitude needed for women and real people to relate to.
Sadly, in a script which allows its female lead to soar, the same cannot be said for its supporting cast. On the surface, they look just as ordinary and real as the people around us. Though, any characterization close to that feels a bit bare-thin. An example can be seen from Michiel Huisman’s portrayal of Ellis Jones. Based on looks, the bearded Dutchman has all the swooning requirements to best assume the prince role, but beyond that, he possesses at best a cardboard cutout personality. Instead of being naturally romantic, his chemistry with the titular character creates more of a soapy impression.
Throughout the film, stereotypical characterizations, such as Huisman’s, dominate its supporting cast. Though, in Harrison Ford’s case, it is an exception. Assuming the king role as Ellis’ father William Jones, Ford eludes the stereotypical trap by the skin of his teeth. At least, knowing he had a history with the titular character, he is able to bring the haunted William into a different dimension.
Conclusion
Realism and immortality feels like two worlds apart. Surprisingly, Age of Adaline’s idea to send those two themes crashing comes to a positively relevant effect. At least, Blake Lively’s performance as the titular character highlights that. Sadly, all the good work in diversifying Adaline hit a dead end in a world so overwhelmingly brimmed with fairy tale stereotypes.
What did you think of The Age of Adaline?
(top image source: Lionsgate)
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