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The Time Traveler's Wife

  • 2009
  • PG-13
  • 1h 47m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
162K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,490
761
Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams in The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)
The Time Traveler's Wife Theatrical Trailer
Play trailer2:29
12 Videos
99+ Photos
Time TravelTragedyDramaFantasyRomanceSci-Fi

Henry DeTamble, a librarian, possesses a unique gene that lets him involuntarily travel through time. His wife, Claire Abshire, finds it difficult to cope with it.Henry DeTamble, a librarian, possesses a unique gene that lets him involuntarily travel through time. His wife, Claire Abshire, finds it difficult to cope with it.Henry DeTamble, a librarian, possesses a unique gene that lets him involuntarily travel through time. His wife, Claire Abshire, finds it difficult to cope with it.

  • Director
    • Robert Schwentke
  • Writers
    • Bruce Joel Rubin
    • Audrey Niffenegger
  • Stars
    • Eric Bana
    • Rachel McAdams
    • Ron Livingston
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.1/10
    162K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    2,490
    761
    • Director
      • Robert Schwentke
    • Writers
      • Bruce Joel Rubin
      • Audrey Niffenegger
    • Stars
      • Eric Bana
      • Rachel McAdams
      • Ron Livingston
    • 322User reviews
    • 141Critic reviews
    • 47Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 5 nominations total

    Videos12

    The Time Traveler's Wife
    Trailer 2:29
    The Time Traveler's Wife
    The Time Traveler's Wife
    Clip 1:12
    The Time Traveler's Wife
    The Time Traveler's Wife
    Clip 1:12
    The Time Traveler's Wife
    The Time Traveler's Wife
    Clip 1:26
    The Time Traveler's Wife
    The Time Traveler's Wife
    Clip 1:00
    The Time Traveler's Wife
    The Time Traveler's Wife
    Clip 1:06
    The Time Traveler's Wife
    The Time Traveler's Wife: Will You Marry Me?
    Clip 1:26
    The Time Traveler's Wife: Will You Marry Me?

    Photos112

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    Top cast68

    Edit
    Eric Bana
    Eric Bana
    • Henry
    Rachel McAdams
    Rachel McAdams
    • Clare
    Ron Livingston
    Ron Livingston
    • Gomez
    Michelle Nolden
    Michelle Nolden
    • Annette DeTamble
    Alex Ferris
    Alex Ferris
    • Henry at Six
    Arliss Howard
    Arliss Howard
    • Richard DeTamble
    Katherine Trowell
    Katherine Trowell
    • Hospital Receptionist
    Bart Bedford
    • Library Researcher
    Esther Jun
    • Waitress
    Matt Birman
    Matt Birman
    • Chicago Police #1
    Craig Snoyer
    • Chicago Police #2
    Carly Street
    • Librarian
    Romyen Tangsubutra
    • Thai Waiter
    Brooklynn Proulx
    Brooklynn Proulx
    • Clare at Six and Eight
    Jane McLean Guerra
    Jane McLean Guerra
    • Charisse
    • (as Jane McLean)
    Brian Bisson
    Brian Bisson
    • Mark Abshire
    Maggie Castle
    Maggie Castle
    • Alicia Abshire
    Fiona Reid
    Fiona Reid
    • Lucille Abshire
    • Director
      • Robert Schwentke
    • Writers
      • Bruce Joel Rubin
      • Audrey Niffenegger
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews322

    7.1162.2K
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    Featured reviews

    7blanche-2

    romantic film from 2009

    Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana star in "The Time Traveler's Wife," from 2009. Directed by Robert Schwentke and based on the novel by Audrey Niffenegger, it tells the story of Henry DeTamble.

    Henry (Eric Bana) works as a special collections librarian. He has an anomaly he was born with which allows him to travel in time. He never knows when or where he's going.

    When Clare Abshire meets him, she invites him to dinner -- she has been in love with him since she was six years old. He finds out that he visited her often when she was a child. They fall in love and marry.

    It turns out that being married to a time traveler isn't all it's cracked up to be. Henry always leaves unexpectedly and sometimes is gone for a while, and it can happen at any time.

    Good movie, with wonderful performances by both leads, who have good chemistry. Rachel McAdams to me is scarily like Jennifer Garner. She's lovely and sympathetic as Clare, and Bana, a fine actor, is very effective as Henry, whose visits to the future don't always make him comfortable.

    Depending on your mood, this bittersweet story can be a real tear- jerker. It got to me and I cried, I admit it.

    I think the tale says that we have to deal with what we're given, even if it's not always convenient. We are not always the masters of our abilities.
    9lyds-2

    Great adaptation, great casting, great romance.

    I was a massive fan of the book and had been following the production of this movie for a long time anticipating the release date. I had set my expectations pretty low so as to not be disappointed and decided to just enjoy the film for what it was.

    I was overjoyed by how true to the book the film stayed, only varying in a few unimportant places, the film dared to be as heart breaking and sad as the book and did not feel the need to justify the logistics of the time travel instead choosing to summarise it in the first scene.(People who feel this was not explained do not have the imagination needed to fully enjoy this film).

    The ageing of Eric Bana's character was seamless and it was easy to tell whether he was a younger or older version of Henry and Rachel McAdams brought out the inner frustrations of Claire's character with a great sensitivity showing the difficulties of the relationship.

    Overall, this film was not a let down to a lover of the book, I enjoyed it as an extension of the story of Henry and Claire and found the emotions real and well developed. A definite must-see for all fans and those who haven't read the book but who just enjoy a good love story!
    8saarvardi

    Hollywood deserves a big kudos for not messing this one up!

    The Time Traveler's Wife is based off of one of the best books I've read in recent years. Naturally, the movie couldn't come close to catching all the little details that made the book so captivating, since like any other film it had a limited time frame he had to work with. However, the Hollywood adaptation (with Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams as the lead rolls) did do one thing right: it captured the heart of the novel and transferred much of the book's atmosphere to the big screen. Now, as much as I've always hated those original-material purists who nitpick on every little detail in a given adaptation, I have to say the work done on The Time Traveler's Wife was extraordinary loyal in spirit to the film.

    Hollywood and director Robert Schwentke deserve a big kudos for not messing this one up, and for creating a big screen experience that welcomes those who loved the novel as well as newcomers to this tragic-romantic story.

    I gave it 9 out of 10.
    8snickers797

    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.
    8J_Trex

    Nicholas Sparks channels Rod Serling

    This was much better than expected. The premise seemed far-fetched, to put it mildly. But the movie worked on a number of different levels based on the screenplay, directing, beautiful cinematography, and acting, not just of the always captivating Rachel McAdams, but also the much underrated Eric Bana as the co-lead, and the rest of the supporting cast.

    The basic plot is Eric Bana (Henry) is afflicted with being involuntarily sent through time. He has no control about the time or places where he is sent. At some point, he meets with Rachel McAdams (Clare), drops in and out of her life, they fall in love and marry. However, as one can easily imagine, the downsides of involuntary time travel takes its toll. The movie could have easily have spun out of control and ended up a total mess, but the movie actually works quite nicely.

    The plot could be a collaborative effort of the late Rod Serling (of Twilight Zone fame) with bizarre, science fiction type plots and Nicholas Sparks, the author of countless sticky sweet love stories (i.e. – "The Notebook").

    I liked this movie, but I realize this might not be everybody's cup of tea. I would say stick with it & you'll be glad you didn't give up & go see "Halloween II" across the hall (as I was tempted to do). I've seen them both. Believe me when I say "Time Traveler" is the better of the two.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      After filming was done, Eric Bana started filming Star Trek (2009), which required him to shave his head. However, re-shoots for this movie were needed, so production was put on hold so Bana's hair could grow out. It took so long that the movie's release date was pushed back by nearly a year.
    • Goofs
      The Calendar page for February 1984 pasted in Clare's diary has 30 days.
    • Quotes

      Clare at Eight: Are you married?

      Henry DeTamble: Yes, I am.

      Clare at Eight: Is your wife a time traveler?

      Henry DeTamble: No. No, thank God.

      Clare at Eight: Do you love her?

      Henry DeTamble: Yes. Very much. What's wrong?

      Clare at Eight: Nothing. I was just hoping you're married to me.

    • Connections
      Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Taking of Pelham 123/Imagine That/Moon (2009)
    • Soundtracks
      Love Will Tear Us Apart
      Written by Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, and Bernard Sumner

      Performed by Broken Social Scene

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 14, 2009 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • arabuloku.com
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • English
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Te amaré por siempre
    • Filming locations
      • Osgoode Hall, Toronto, Ontario, Canada(Library in Chicago)
    • Production companies
      • New Line Cinema
      • Plan B Entertainment
      • Nick Wechsler Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $39,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $63,414,846
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $18,623,171
      • Aug 16, 2009
    • Gross worldwide
      • $101,344,412
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 47 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • DTS
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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