The Time Traveler’s Wife Review: Delivers A Solid Work That Combines Science Fiction And A Peculiar Romance

Stars: Rose Leslie, Theo James, Everleigh McDonell

Director: David Nutter

Streaming Platform: HBO Max

Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3.5/5 (Three and half stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Review of The Time Traveler’s Wife, the adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger’s novel by Steven Moffat for HBO Max. Adapting The Time Traveler’s Wife, the novel by Audrey Niffenegger. This six-episode HBO Max miniseries isn’t the first. There will be those who remember Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams in the 2009 adaptation directed by Robert Schwentke and whose script was commissioned by Bruce Joel Rubin.

It is not an easy novel to read and it is much less easy to translate it into images due, above all, to the fact that our perspective constantly changes and not only because it shows the point of view of different characters but because they are in different times, sometimes even in duplicate. So, first of all, there is the complexity of maintaining plot coherence. To be much more faithful to the printed letter and less restrictive in terms of narrated events, Steven Moffat (Doctor Who, Sherlock) has taken charge of the libretto this time with Theo James and Rose Leslie as protagonists main.

The Time Traveler’s Wife Review: The Story

But… What is The Time Traveler’s Wife about? It is a science-fiction story that leads us to meet Henry: a man who, from his childhood and without prior notice, begins to develop the ability to travel through time. He never quite knows what triggers it or where, when, or for how long he’s going to materialize again. This causes him many problems since when he dissipates in the air, his clothes stay where they are, ergo he appears naked at any point in his life. So he meets a very young Clare, who will be his wife over the years and therefore the person who misses him the most every time he disappears.

But it also gives him the chance to contact his younger self and train him to cope when he has his time displacement episodes. The main thing: get clothes, eat and go unnoticed in that order. With these wicks, The Time Traveler’s Woman could be anything: it admits all kinds of tonalities (they could have opted for comedy or drama), but as we said, the objective is to be faithful to the novel, in such a way that determinism and the romantic conception of history are maintained, although it differs greatly from other works of the same genre.

The Time Traveler’s Wife Review and Analysis

There are no duplicities, nor does it hide its intentions: it is a complex love story, very labyrinthine and curdled with time travel whose “rules” are perfectly exposed from the first episode. And to put it on its feet, a very talented cast is needed and one that combines well at the chemistry level on the screen. One of the winning tricks of The Time Traveler’s Wife is the casting in which Rose Leslie stands out as Clare Abshire, Theo James as Henry DeTamble, Desmin Borges as Gomez, and Natasha Lopez as Charisse.

The section that could be improved is the characterizations: after having seen how overwhelmingly realistic aging and rejuvenation techniques are applied in series like True Detective, for example, the performance of the makeup, hair, and prosthetics departments in this series looks very far from the ideal finish.

If the average viewer manages to abstract himself from this issue and not take it lightly, he will be able to enter into an exciting narrative that deals with the different facets of love over a very long period: how absence feeds it, crises occur, and to be something that transcends throughout a life marked by encounters and disagreements. We are not going to reveal any of the turning points of the script, but of course, we do invite you to allow it to surprise you.

For those who are wondering, the moments in the novel that gave us the creeps remain as they are in the series: Moffat has not pruned anything and some sexual encounters or even the rules that Henry imposes on himself so as not to go too far with the minor Clare, Although they can be very disconcerting, they are part of the original material and essential to understanding the evolution of the characters.

The time traveler’s wife is not a work of science fiction and is rather integrated into the realm of the fantastic. One of the novel’s bright spots, which is also shown in the series, is that time travel is not done thanks to gadgets or potions, but rather is an intrinsic quality of the protagonist, a mutation that is not explained and which no further details are given. It’s not a superpower either, because, being uncontrollable, it feels more like a curse, something the protagonist is condemned to do against his will, which gives him a lot of practical problems. The main themes of The Time Traveler’s Wife are the problems of time travel, the reflections on the inevitability of the future, and the love story between Henry and Claire, of their meetings in a non-linear sequence, which leads to a series of temporal paradoxes. Living their love story in a different order, they both define their common future together and define each other.

These themes are also the core themes in the series. In this one, the leading role is shared between Henry, who travels back in time, and Claire, who has to wait during those unpredictable trips. The figure of the narrator is replaced by that of an interviewer whose questions the protagonists answer, and by dialogues between different Henrys that intersect at certain moments in time. This last resource is used and abused a little, and its interest diminishes with repetition, but these encounters give rise to many reflections on identity, making us consider to what extent the different ages of a person are the same person. Interviews, on the other hand, are a good method to comment and support the narrative and let us know the characters well.

The serial format allows the treatment of the characters and their relationships to be deepened, as well as to explore the main thesis of the film, in which time only passes once and what happened is inevitable. In this way, the “grandfather paradox” is avoided. This paradox indicates that if a time traveler went into the past and there killed his grandfather, with this action he would end the possibility of his existence and, consequently, with his time travel. In the world of The Time Traveler’s Wife, that could never happen, the past is fixed and no journey can change it.  Henry, more than the possibility of killing his grandfather, is concerned about not dying himself and returning safe and sound to his present.

The issues that political correctness in the film industry focuses on make their way into the series. One episode deals with the issue of sexual assault. In another, to avoid misunderstandings, the rules that Henry imposes on himself regarding his relationship with an underage Claire are emphasized, at least while he is underage. The series is viewed with pleasure and interest and is a worthy adaptation of the original novel. The first season of six episodes gives enough room to pick up the details of the plot and include some new themes, and it closes perfectly. The good culmination of a good series, which meets expectations.

The Time Traveler’s Wife Review: The Last Words

Moffat resolutely embraces the idea of ​​faithfully adapting “The Time Traveler’s Wife” and delivers a solid work that combines science fiction and a peculiar romance far removed from the standards of the genre. The chemistry between Rose Leslie and Theo James and the fact that the series very faithfully reflects what happens in the novel.