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The Age Of Adaline is 29, and it’ll forever be 29 after a car accident freezes her in time and she’ll never age another day. Want to know the secret? It’s not L’Oreal, it involves a lightning bolt. Presumably due to them containing the power of 1.21 Jigawatts, and also having the ability to send you back in time. So, really, it should turn her into the female Benjamin Button.
Adaline (Blake Lively, her performance contrasting her name) currently works in a library, digitising old newsreels. Imagine being stuck aged 29, and never being able to retire? Wouldn’t you be sick of it all?
As you might’ve guessed, neither films are based on true stories.
Born at 12.01am on January 1st 1908, it’s New Year’s Eve and, with the current name of Jennifer Larson, she’s just about to turn 107.
We soon learn that the problem with never dying is that everyone else dies around you – offspring, pets, friends and so on. Unfortunately, it then turns into a drippy romantic movie with the heavily-bearded Ellis (Michiel Huisman). There’s hints of The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, and the eventual outcome really would not take an Einstein to predict.
As the extras show, Harrison Ford had some time to kill before filming Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, so he popped along to phone in his performance, being out-acted by his goatee.
The film is presented in the original 2.35:1 widescreen ratio and in 1080p high definition and looks as pin-sharp as you’d expect from a modern movie with all time periods being evoked without any issues, the 1950s looking particularly radiant.
The sound is in DTS HD 5.1 and it’s mostly a romance so aside from dialogue and ambience and a bit of a score, there’s not a lot to shout about. It’s all fine, but nothing to warn the neighbours about before firing up the disc.
The extras are as follows. There’s nothing revolutionary here, but it’s good that they top the hour-mark:
- A Love Story For the Ages (29:36): An in-depth making-of where the crew members talk about the premise as if they’ve just discovered the Holy Grail. There’s also chat from key cast members, as well as getting the period detail right as Adaline ages… or rather, doesn’t.
- Style Throughout the Ages (18:13): More of the same, adding in costume design.
- Discovering Young Harrison Ford (8:13): A look into getting Anthony Ingruber for the role of a young Harrison Ford for some brief flashback scenes. He certainly does a good turn in this role.
- Deleted scenes (4:25): Two brief scenes.
The menu mixes clips with the theme from the film, and subtitles are available in English only. Chapters are the usual bog-standard 12.
The Age Of Adaline is out now on Blu-ray and DVD, and click on the packshot for the full-sized version.
|
FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS |
2 10 7 4 |
| OVERALL | 6 |
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 112 minutes
Studio: Entertainment in Video
Cat.no.: EBR5250
Year: 2015
Released: September 14th 2015
Chapters: 12
Picture: 1080p High Definition
Sound: DTS HD Master Audio 5.1, DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1
Languages: English
Subtitles: English
Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Anamorphic Hawk Scope, Anamorphic Kowa Scope, Redcode RAW (6K) and Super 16)
Disc Format: BD50
Director: Lee Toland Krieger
Producers: Sidney Kimmel and Tom Rosenberg
Screenplay and story: J Mills Goodloe and Salvador Paskowitz
Music: Rob Simonsen
Cast:
Adaline Bowman: Blake Lively
Ellis Jones: Michiel Huisman
William Jones: Harrison Ford
Flemming: Ellen Burstyn
Kathy Jones: Kathy Baker
Kikki Jones: Amanda Crew
Regan: Lynda Boyd
Narrator: Hugh Ross
Young William: Anthony Ingruber
Tony: Richard Harmon
Cab Driver: Fulvio Cecere
Cora: Anjali Jay
Kenneth: Hiro Kanagawa
Clarence James Prescott: Peter James Grey
Flemming (Age 5): Izabel A Pearce
Flemming (Age 20): Cate Richardson
Flemming (Age 13): Julia Torrance (uncredited)
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.