Wednesday Movie Review: The Time Traveler’s Wife

This past week, we DirecTV customers had a few days of free Cinemax, which meant that I recorded a few movies to watch that I missed when they were in the theaters. One of those movies was The Time Traveler’s Wife. Many of you may have already seen this movie, but if not, then maybe you will rent it/download it/whatever it is you kids do these days.

I read this book in anticipation of the movie coming out but didn’t review it here on The Chronicles of Nat. In fact, I may have read it before I started the blog. The book is really an extraordinary novel – it amazes me that the author was able to come up with such a unique story and tell the story from so many different perspectives and time periods. You really have to pay attention when reading the book to know what year it is and which Henry is in the scene. I found the book to be beautifully written and at the end I cried like a baby – it was one of those ugly cries where I had to let my tears dry up for a while before I could continue reading. In my opinion, this was one of the best books I have ever read and I actually wouldn’t mind going back and reading it again, but then there are so many other books out there to read. I remember that while reading this book, I would dream about it each night and that’s always a tell-tale sign that I’m in love with what I’m reading – it consumes my thought.

For whatever reason (probably because I was dating Tony and he would have had no interest in seeing this movie) I never went to see the movie in the theater, even though I remember really wanting to see it. Then, with the demise of the video store, I never had an opportunity to rent the film either; so, when I saw it would be playing on Cinemax during the free preview days, I recorded it.

This past Monday night, I had an opportunity to watch it and I really thought it was well done. As mentioned in the past, it’s hard to get every detail of a book on film and there were many small details and even larger details that were left out of this film; but on the whole, I would have to say this film captured the message and meaning behind the book. I don’t know if it was because I loved the book so much or because I had read the book I knew what was about to happen in the scenes or if I was just overly emotional when I watched this move, but I have to tell you, I cried like a baby through the majority of the film and it brought back so many of the thoughts and feelings I had while reading the book. It made me want to pick it up and get lost in it once more.

I felt as though the love between Clare and Henry was very accurately portrayed on the screen and my heart ached every time Clare’s did. For a book as in depth and as long as this one, the movie played out pretty well, I would say. Just as I did when I read the book, I dreamt about it after watching the movie. Apparently there is something about this story that really touches my heart. If you’re looking for something to watch this weekend, see if you can find The Time Traveler’s Wife. Then come back and let me know what you thought, especially those of you who read the book.