The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)

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.

Director:

Robert Schwentke

Writers:

Bruce Joel Rubin (screenplay), Audrey Niffenegger (novel)

Stars:

Michelle Nolden, Eric Bana, Rachel McAdams

5 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

When Henry DeTamble meets Clare Abshire in a Chicago library they both understand that he is a time traveller, but she she knows much more than this about him as he has not yet been to the times and places where they have met before. He falls in love with her, as she has already with him, but his continuing unavoidable absences time travelling - and then returning with increasing knowledge of their future - makes things ever more difficult for Clare.

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Plot Keywords:

librarian | time travel | accidental shooting | wedding | miscarriage | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [jp]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 August 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Te amaré por siempre

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$39,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,410,333 (UK) (14 August 2009)

Gross:

$63,411,478 (USA) (27 November 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Internationale Scarena Filmproduktionsgesellschaft 2, New Line Cinema, Nick Wechsler Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt made headlines when they bought the film rights to Audrey Niffenegger's novel before it was released to the public.

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Goofs

If Henry time-travels nude, he would not have lock picks. However, it is possible to pick locks with paper clips, hairpins, basically a couple of stiff wires. These are not particularly difficult to find.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Henry at Six: [giving up] I can't sing.
Annette DeTamble: That was fine, Henry.
Henry at Six: I can't sing like you.
Annette DeTamble: Of course not. You're supposed to sing like you.

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: The Best of Science Fiction Movies (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Es ist ein Ros entsprungen"
Written by Micheal Praetorius
Performed by Mycheal Danna

User Reviews

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.