A Wrinkle in Time

[SamSpade]

Let me start out by saying, I really wanted to like this film. Great actors, award-winning classic children's story.
Should have been great - when I heard they were making this film, I bought the book for my daughter.

She agreed - book was a LOT better.

Oprah, Mindy, Reese - really just phoned in their roles. Frankly, with rare exception (Reese, near the beginning)
I could easily believe they shot their scenes alone in a studio. Like a lot of big budget films, they spent entirely too
much time showing scenery and effects as if to say - as many expensive films do - look how much money we spent
making the scenery.

They SHOULD have launched quickly into the story - as it does in the book - but spent way too much time
building up to it. And when it was over - your average viewer thought - what? That's it? I missed it.
Very disappointed. Unlike a lot of recent films in this genre, I'm unlikely to watch it again on TV.
No point.

 

[GURPS]

.... I'm unlikely to watch it again on TV.
No point.

:shrug:


they stripped out the Christian Message

 

[vraiblonde]

I never got a Christian message from AWIT. It seemed like straightforward fantasy to me, no different than any of the other books of that genre.

 

[GURPS]

don't know, don't care .... did not read the book



'A Wrinkle in Time' ditches the book's explicit Christian references — and the movie really suffers because of it

Though the film adaptation has several critical flaws — namely pacing and an off-kilter wobble between too much exposition and then not enough — the removal of L'Engle's religious overtones leads to a key issue.

By removing the religious themes, the movie version of "A Wrinkle in Time" loses part of its narrative arc. This leads to a confusing storyline and muddled message when it comes to the antagonist and the purpose of the celestial characters of Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Which.

Christianity is integral to the book version of "A Wrinkle in Time"

Author Madeleine L'Engle, who died in 2007 at age 88, spoke about the importance of her own Christian faith as it relates to "A Wrinkle in Time."

"If I've ever written a book that says what I feel about God and the universe, this is it," L'Engle reportedly wrote in her journal. "This is my psalm of praise to life, my stand for life against death."


Critic: "A Wrinkle In Time" Doesn't Have To Be Good Because "Inclusion"


Why did the film fail? For one, Disney arrogantly stripped the source material of its Christian themes while director Ava DuVernay misfired on the style, tone and dramatic arc of the film. The same could not be said for "Black Panther" director Ryan Coogler, who, in concert with Marvel, created a massively successful film brimming with emotionally-charged moments, universal values, and a satisfying story arc that thrilled both critics and audiences to the tune of $1 billion.

Inkoo Kang at The Hollywood Reporter, however, feels that critics of DuVernay's "A Wrinkle In Time" have been much too hard on the film and saddled it with a "ludicrously unfair burden" on account of the fact that it was the first ultra-budget film directed by a black woman and starring a biracial girl. In a piece titled, "'A Wrinkle in Time' Isn't a Great Film, But Why Does It Have to Be?" Kang writes:

I'll happily defend the (wildly ambitious, immensely personal) movie on its own merits. But first, it's important to note the ludicrously unfair burden that Wrinkle was saddled with as soon as DuVernay signed on and turned protagonist Meg into a biracial girl: It had to be both artistically dazzling and a commercial hit in order for it to be considered any kind of success. Grossly put, the "system" was rigged against it.