Age of Adaline

Rating : 8/10
Release Date : 5th June, 2015
Time : 112 minutes
Director : Lee Toland Krieger; Writer : J. Mills Goodloe, Salvador Paskowitz; Music : Rob Simonsen
Starring : Blake Lively, Michiel Huisman, Ellen Burstyn, Kathy Baker, Amanda Crew



Age of Adaline makes you want to fall in love again. It reminds you, with all its bitter-sweetness, the heady rush of conflicting emotions that course through you when experiencing those intense moments – the pounding heart screaming yes, the logical brain yelling no – the looks, the tenderness, the chaos and the way everything around you seems more beautiful.

Blake Lively, in the title role, stopped ageing after a freak accident. And once you get over the obvious advantages of such a ‘gift’, you realize the inherent negatives – watching those you love age around you, the incredulous looks of friends, the suspicious looks of the authorities. And reaches the same conclusion as the central character in the little known film The Man From Earth. She realizes she has to live the life of a nomad, with no roots, away from her daughter (Ellen Burstyn)…almost a fugitive… until she meets Michiel Huisman…and his parents, Harrison Ford and Kathy Baker…

What was extraordinary about Blake’s performance in the film was her demeanour. Its one thing to look youthful, gorgeous but quite another to be all that and behave old, mature, wise beyond her…(well, not in this case). Whether its her all-knowing eyes (having seen it all), her confident posture (Without being assertive) or her measured dialogue delivery (wiser, without being condescending) – she was exceptional and lit up the film, made us believe its improbable premise.

It’s funny the thoughts such a film can provoke. The realization, like that of King Midas, about how a simple gift can have unexpected consequences. The wisdom that can come from years of living (as demonstrated by a game of Trivial Pursuit in the film). The choice of anonymity and its accompanying practicalities – in terms of choice of profession, the banking modalities, the homes chosen. And above all, the loneliness…the wistfulness… and the memories of heart-aches that don’t fade...