The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)

Director:

Robert Schwentke

Writers (WGA):

Bruce Joel Rubin (screenplay)
Audrey Niffenegger (novel)

Release Date:

14 August 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A romantic drama about a Chicago librarian with a gene that causes him to involuntarily time travel, and the complications it creates for his marriage. |

Plot Keywords:

Time Travel | Librarian | Premarital Sex | Film Clip | Widower

Cast

Michelle Nolden	...	Annette DeTamble
Alex Ferris	...	Henry at Six
Arliss Howard	...	Richard DeTamble
Eric Bana	...	Henry DeTamble
Katherine Trowell	...	Hospital Receptionist
Bart Bedford	...	Library Researcher
Esther Jun	...	Waitress
Matt Birman	...	Chicago Police #1
Craig Snoyer	...	Chicago Police #2
Rachel McAdams	...	Clare Abshire
Carly Street	...	Librarian
Romyen Tangsubutra	...	Thai Waiter
Brooklynn Proulx	...	Clare at Six and Eight
Jane McLean	...	Charisse
Ron Livingston	...	Gomez

Also Known As:

The Time Traveller's Wife (UK)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, brief disturbing images, nudity and sexuality.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44551) | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Ireland:15A | UK:12A | Argentina:13 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Iceland:12 | Japan:G | South Korea:12 | Mexico:B | Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Sweden:7 | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

During the final meadow scene, after Henry disappears, Alba bends down to pick up his discarded brown loafers. This is a reference to the cover art of one edition of the book, which features a young girl (visible only from mid-leg down) standing next to a brown pair of loafers in a field.

Goofs:

Continuity: During one scene Henry talks to a young Claire in the meadow, she is wearing a dark purple t-shirt with a white pinafore dress. In some shots of Claire a white thread/piece of fluff is clearly visible on the dark background of her purple sleeve, it disappears and reappears between shots.

Quotes:

Richard DeTamble: [many years after his wife's death] I still miss her. I miss her every day.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Late Show with David Letterman: (#16.183)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Love Will Tear Us Apart

It's about life long metaphors, not the science.

Something I often find bothersome in 'time travel fiction' is that there is usually a large chunk of the storytelling dedicated to the tedium of explaining 'how' time travel works, particularly when time travel is merely a device to aid the storytelling. We don't really need to know the science behind it because, simply put, science can neither logically explain its paradoxical nature, nor prove or dispute its possibility. "The Time Traveler's Wife" never makes pretenses to the science behind it, rather it centers its focus on the story.

At the heart of this film is a love story and the complexities that people bring to their relationships. What I liked most was its metaphorical allusion to the distance in relationships and how the important people in our lives stay with us even after they are gone. The scenes between Henry and young Clare were especially moving because they took literally the notion of feeling like you have known someone your whole life. It's kind of like when you share stories from your past with friends and significant others, retelling them time and again until your experiences are indistinguishable from theirs, except in the case of Henry and Clare, the experiences are real if not linear.

Just go and watch it. Decide for yourself if you like it. Just don't dwell too much on the technicalities. After all, Scientific Theorists have been slamming their heads against the wall on the matter of time travel for centuries. Take the story for what it is and enjoy the ride.