Movie Review: The Age of Adeline – Harrison Ford’s Talent Not Enough to Overcome the Abysmal Job Done by The Leads

I’m not really a big fan of Blake Lively. With the exception of the crackhead she played in The Town, I find her kind of stone faced and empty. I’m pretty sure the vast majority of her roles could be recreated by a mannequin. Despite an intriguing premise, I find the Age of Adeline is no real exception.

Blake Lively plays the part of our title character, a 29-year-old who needs to pretend she’s sad that she’ll never turn thirty. Her ‘curse’ starts when she plows her car into a tree on a dark and stormy night. For the most part, she lives a happy, normal life, getting married and having a daughter. Then, when she’s supposed to be 45, and looks 25 (poor thing) she’s forced to go on the run. It goes on like this until she takes a job as a librarian and meets a man who pulls some kind of weird Indecent Proposal thing. Then, she has to decide whether to settle down or flee yet again. Add in the complication that she used to date this dude’s dad, and I would have run so fast I would have left my shadow behind.

The first problem with this film, again, is Blake Lively. She’s supposed to represent some kind of timeless glamour, but instead comes across as dead eyed and empty. She might have made a better vampire. At least then the storyline might have been a bit more plausible.

The next problem comes in with the love interest Ellis (Michiel Huisman). While he is a bit of a charmer, there was one major problem and that problem was his accent. Huisman is Dutch but he’s playing an American. And he sounds exactly like a Dutch person playing an American. The accent is not well covered.

Speaking of voices, Hugh Ross does the voiceover for this one, but the narrator’s tone doesn’t fit. It sounds a bit like an episode of Frontline. In a fantasy film, it just doesn’t work and tends to pull you out of the picture.

The one high point in this one was Harrison Ford. He gives off some true star power and despite the fact that he’s a secondary character, plays like a first tier one. He stole every scene that he was in with Lively, but that was hardly difficult. I’m pretty sure she was asleep through the majority of the film.

I think the film might have worked better with better acting. On its face, it’s a unique story with an interesting take. The problem comes in with the abysmal job done by the leads. From a dodgy American accent, to Blake Lively’s less than lively performance, the failure comes from the leads themselves.

This one might be one to skip. The effort made by the writers was not matched by the enthusiasm of the actors. Leads who sleepwalked through the movie made this a movie you want to sleep through. It’s a shame because I had high hopes for The Age of Adeline.

WE GAVE IT : 3 STARS!  Watch the Official Trailer and See the Official Movie Poster below

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