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‘A Wrinkle in Time’: Not Since ‘Narnia’
by Sandra Olmsted
Director Ava DuVernay’s adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle’s once thought to be “unfilmable” novel, covers much of same ground as the Narnia franchise and book series. Creating and using symbols to represent aspects of Christian theology in a film is not easy. If the symbols and theology are too heavy-handed, audiences stay away because movies are about entertainment, not sermonizing. If the symbols and theology are too vague or too esoteric, the audience will not make the connections needed; furthermore, the original material will be stripped of integral meanings and connections. Add to the mix elements of science fiction and fantasy, and the potential problems multiply. A Wrinkle in Time proffered all these problems, yet DuVernay, who directed Selma, tackles the challenges with aplomb and a little help from the marvelous advancements in CGI (computer generated images).
Although the plot points and some characters have been combined or cut to fit a film’s time limits, the story remains mostly intact. As the film opens, Mr. and Mrs. Murry (Chris Pine and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, respectively), both scientists of the Ph.D. variety, are welcoming a son and reassuring their daughter that love enfolds her and them all. Fast forward four years. Mr. Murry disappeared suddenly and mysterious. Mrs. Murry works to keep hope alive that her beloved husband will return. Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) is now a precocious prodigy, and Meg (Storm Reid, in a breakout performance), who was “once a promising student,” struggles with bullies at school and the loss of her beloved father. Even a new friend, Calvin (Levi Miller), who clearly likes her and is amazed by her, can’t get to the depths of sorrow and lack of confidence in Meg.
Charles Wallace, meanwhile, has a plan to end the unhappiness in the Murry home and brings three magical beings into their lives. Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), a free spirit who can fly over fences and wonders why people build them, arrives at the Murrys’ door late one evening which doesn’t sit well with Mrs. Murry or Meg. When Mrs. Whatsit casually says, “There is such a thing as a tesseract,” Meg and her mother are stunned. Tesseract was what Mr. Murry was working on when he disappeared, and he believed that they were a means to fold space and time in such way as to travel great distances in seconds. He dreamed of “shaking hands with the universe” and studied vibrations.
Later, Charles Wallace introduces Meg to Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling); it might be a simplification to say she might be the Word Made Flesh just because she uses the words of others to communicate. Finally, Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey) — please notice the spelling and her lack of a broom and pointy hat — comes to visit Charles Wallace in the family’s backyard when Meg and Calvin are present. At first, Mrs. Which is much larger than all the other characters, then she scales down her size to match theirs. Mrs. Which, along with Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Who, leads Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin on a trip through the university to find Mr. Murry and bring him home. Their travels are affected by a tesseract, in which each person must find their vibration and have the faith to leap into the waffling, shimmering distortion of their present reality.
After visiting a beautiful planet and getting some clues about Mr. Murry’s whereabouts, they visit the Happy Medium (Zach Galifianakis), and Meg learns the success of their journey and quest all rely on her accepting and loving herself and using her gifts. When Mrs. Which, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Whatsit try to tesser them all home, Meg’s deep love for and determination to save her father detours them to Camazotz, the planet where evil IT resides and from which darkness is spreading faster than light to destroy the universe. Earth is under attack right now. Unfortunately, Mrs. Which, Mrs, Who, and Mrs. Whatsit must leave Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace on their own. Will they survive? Will they find Mr. Murry? How will they get home?
A Wrinkle in Time is remarkable for a number of reasons. First, director Ava DuVernay is only the second black woman, following Kasi Lemmons, to be invited to the director’s branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Second, she became the first African-American woman to direct a movie with a budget over $100 million. The film, as helmed by DuVernay, is a multiracial, multiethnic blend of people in both the crew and, especially noteworthy, in the cast. DuVernay directs the action sequences and the human and emotional interactions of the characters in such as way as to emphasize the humanity and uniqueness of each individual character. In the actions scenes and in the emotional moments, the characters are stripped to their humanity, and the audience can connect to them across age, race, and any other fences built to separate humans from each other. A Wrinkle in Time is beautiful not just for the CGI creation of beautiful worlds and costumes, but because DuVernay has reached into hearts and shared a divine vision of humanity.
A Wrinkle in Time, which is based on L’Engle’s Time Quintet, offers Walt Disney Pictures and Whitaker Entertainment, who risk the money to produce this adaption, the possibility of a franchise with legs if this film makes enough box office. A Wrinkle in Time, which is a Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures release, runs 109 minutes and is rated PG for thematic elements and some peril. A Wrinkle in Time opens in some theaters on March 8 and the rest on March 9 and would be an ideal film for the religious holidays because of the messages about the power of love to conquer evil.
