A love that's more than love

Film review: The Time Traveler’s Wife

MANILA, Philippines - Which would you rather have: A spouse who is always with you and provides you with lifetime security but with whom you do not share any passion? Or, a husband who is the love of your love and who is also passionately in love with you, but who periodically disappears at any given time at any given day for a reason (genetic disorder in this case) over which he has no control? This conundrum comes to mind while watching the movie The Time Traveler’s Wife which has piqued the interest of so many people all over the world not really because of the sci-fi theme of time-traveling but more so because of Eric Bana’s much-talked-about-butt (no kidding!) which every now and then appears on screen after each one of his time-traveling episodes as Henry, the time-traveling husband.

I loved the book and the movie. I feel most fortunate to have read the award-winning novel by Audrey Niffenegger (as recommended to me by my book-loving niece Thrina) before watching the movie of the same title. The book had so many details that could not be included in the movie for obvious editorial reasons of time and production constraints and it prepared me for the rather sometimes fast and confusing sequence of events depicted in the movie (e.g., What date are we in? How old is Henry in this scene?)

As the time-traveler’s wife Clare, Rachel McAdams (The Notebook) was gorgeous, easy to love and undoubtedly an excellent actress. She acted so well that she engages your sympathy; having seen her as a young girl very much in love with Henry all the way to the very end as the long-suffering but patient wife. You really end up wishing everything will turn out well for her. She and Eric had great chemistry, one could feel to the core the deep emotional attachment of the husband and wife roles they portrayed and the trials their characters had to go through together. But they loved with a love that was more than love (to borrow from Edgar Allan Poe) and whether you like it or not, you will become very much part of the story and become entangled in their complicated lives.

The love story starts with a very young Clare (Henry’s future wife), whom a thirty-something Henry visited from the future. Future Henry, as a friend, will keep on visiting Clare as she gets older, and eventually tells her that she will become his wife. They meet again in the present with present Henry not knowing anything about Clare and his future visits to the young Clare. (Confused now?) Clare, who was forewarned of this by the future Henry, tries to explain to present Henry very slowly about all of future Henry’s visits to her previously, and the relationship that developed between them. (More confused?) Present Clare and present Henry fall in love, get married and the audience is witness to the trials and tribulations they go through as Henry makes his sudden disappearances even as they are already married.

(By this time, I assure you, you would have been able to get it.) Clare has to contend with a constantly vanishing husband, while Henry is exposed to all the consequent dangers of having to appear naked (he can’t bring his clothes when he time travels) in different places at different chronological ages which forces him to steal, break windows, and pick locks. Clare is worried to no end about what could happen to Henry as he is time traveling, while Henry becomes concerned about what could happen to Clare while he is physically away. Their reunions give you such a big relief you would want to go inside the movie screen and do a bear hug with them. (I swear!) Such is the movie’s effect on you not only because of the very convincing performances of the two principal actors but also because of great directing from Robert Schwenke and script from Bruce Joel Rubin (of the hit movie Ghost).

Having read the book and watched the movie, I will give you my own answer to my introductory question. Being the hopelessly romantic person that I am, I will still go for that love-of-my-love-who-loves-me-passionately-in-return. Finding this person and spending time with him is truly the gift of a lifetime. And if you have found that person, love him like there is no tomorrow for he just might be taken away from you at any given time. This is the lesson we learn from both movie and book. Catch the film now as it is truly worth watching. P.S. Don’t forget the tissues!

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