I've been a fan of the novel for quite a long time, in fact one of the publishing agents came to give a lecture when I was in college on the nature of getting your work published and kept citing the due to be released novel as an example and even then the premise he described sounded amazing. I finally got around to reading it when it went into paperback and it's a book I have recommended countless times to people of all ages and interests. It's a great example of not just a unique and beautiful story but a clever way of telling it.
The movie on the other hand, can only be described as a disappointing mess. First of all, it immediately removes the mystery of Henry's first meeting with Claire at the Library, when he is 28 and she is 20. Why? Because it was just literally yelled at us that Henry is a time traveler. Granted, that's the name of the movie, but it just made the whole encounter feel stale.
Which is sort of the problem of the movie in general. It presents many of the events of the novel, though many are left out as well, but it does so in a very bland "well here's what happened" sort of way. None of the humor or passion of the characters in the book is there, we never really get the feeling as to why Henry or Claire love each other, it all feels sort of cold, as if the characters had decided "well this is inevitable apparently."
One major thing missing though is how much of a hassle Henry's time traveling is for his own life and everyone else's around him. There's only one moment where he leaves for a long period of time, and otherwise it is just a nuisance for him and Claire. Gone entirely is his ex-girlfriend Ingrid, gone is the eerie recognition everyone around Claire has for Henry since he resembles the man she was occasionally seen with years earlier. Also gone is the fact that Henry witnesses his own death and also speaks with Claire's father and brother at the time, and Claire having arrived shortly afterwards having just missed the death too (actually to be honest, the way his death happens in the movie feels entirely avoidable). Oddly, though he is mentioned, Claire's brother is not even in the movie or at least has no dialogue.
A few things that are major events in the book are treated as non-events in the movie, for example, the fact that Henry's first time travel was out of the car when his mother died is the very first thing revealed in the movie, when it is something of a breakthrough mental moment for Henry in the book. His relationship with his father and his father's alcoholism suffers similarly, it's mentioned but not dwelled on and ultimately is swept aside.
OK, I don't want this review to just be "Here's what they left out from the book!" I understand that in order to make a movie out of a book you have to take stuff away. My point is more that things seemed cut simply for time sake and not narrative, and as such what ended up happening is that the soul, the essence of the book was removed with it.
On another note, the movie does a terrible job of tracking when things happen and how old the characters are. This wouldn't be so bad except that there's really not a lot of quality makeup work here so there's not a lot to distinguish the way Henry looks for almost 20 years of his life. A touch of gray hair and a need to shave does not make someone look significantly older, regardless of whether he or another character says "you/I look older!" The movie could have used some of that Benjamin Button magic, and perhaps even some titles saying the year and that "Henry is 28, Claire is 20" like in the book.
The movie on the other hand, can only be described as a disappointing mess. First of all, it immediately removes the mystery of Henry's first meeting with Claire at the Library, when he is 28 and she is 20. Why? Because it was just literally yelled at us that Henry is a time traveler. Granted, that's the name of the movie, but it just made the whole encounter feel stale.
Which is sort of the problem of the movie in general. It presents many of the events of the novel, though many are left out as well, but it does so in a very bland "well here's what happened" sort of way. None of the humor or passion of the characters in the book is there, we never really get the feeling as to why Henry or Claire love each other, it all feels sort of cold, as if the characters had decided "well this is inevitable apparently."
One major thing missing though is how much of a hassle Henry's time traveling is for his own life and everyone else's around him. There's only one moment where he leaves for a long period of time, and otherwise it is just a nuisance for him and Claire. Gone entirely is his ex-girlfriend Ingrid, gone is the eerie recognition everyone around Claire has for Henry since he resembles the man she was occasionally seen with years earlier. Also gone is the fact that Henry witnesses his own death and also speaks with Claire's father and brother at the time, and Claire having arrived shortly afterwards having just missed the death too (actually to be honest, the way his death happens in the movie feels entirely avoidable). Oddly, though he is mentioned, Claire's brother is not even in the movie or at least has no dialogue.
A few things that are major events in the book are treated as non-events in the movie, for example, the fact that Henry's first time travel was out of the car when his mother died is the very first thing revealed in the movie, when it is something of a breakthrough mental moment for Henry in the book. His relationship with his father and his father's alcoholism suffers similarly, it's mentioned but not dwelled on and ultimately is swept aside.
OK, I don't want this review to just be "Here's what they left out from the book!" I understand that in order to make a movie out of a book you have to take stuff away. My point is more that things seemed cut simply for time sake and not narrative, and as such what ended up happening is that the soul, the essence of the book was removed with it.
On another note, the movie does a terrible job of tracking when things happen and how old the characters are. This wouldn't be so bad except that there's really not a lot of quality makeup work here so there's not a lot to distinguish the way Henry looks for almost 20 years of his life. A touch of gray hair and a need to shave does not make someone look significantly older, regardless of whether he or another character says "you/I look older!" The movie could have used some of that Benjamin Button magic, and perhaps even some titles saying the year and that "Henry is 28, Claire is 20" like in the book.
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