A Wrinkle In Time is a wonder, but not for adults

Image result for a wrinkle in time 

By Katia

I’ve been waiting to see A Wrinkle In Time for quite some time now. A lot of my local theater showings have been sold out and between work, school and the absolutely ridiculous amount of snow hitting the East Coast in MARCH, getting out to a theater has been hard. I finally got to see the film last night. I have not read the novel, but I really love the direction of Ava DuVernay,  so I went in with slight excitement.

I say slight because the criticism towards this film is brutal. A Wrinkle In Time just keeps getting slammed by critics. This reaction was totally unexpected to me. DuVernay has proved herself as a director time and time again. In the beggining I suspected that it was just that initial wave of bad reviews, and that mixed reviews would trickle in and would get an OK score from critics. I miscalculated completely. I have yet to see a positive review of A Wrinkle In Time. This baffled me. 

I say with confidence that it really isn’t as terrible as the critics are making it out to be. It is unwatchable? Not at all. Is it riddled with flaws? Absolutely. A Wrinkle In Time knows its destinination, but not how it’s going to get there. With plot holes, poor acting, but a good message, A Wrinkle In Time is somewhat painless. What I’ve observed most from critics when reviewing this film is the CGI. CGI landscapes are unfortunately the downfall of believability in these fantasy type films, yet what are we supposed to believe in fantasy films, it’s fantasy for a reason. As a 100% practical effects fan, the CGI is really not at all what pisses me off. I find more of the distaste in the plot. But that’s not what I wish to focus on.

A Wrinkle in Time at is concept is a film that defines this generation. A young girl saving the world with the help of Oprah sounds pretty of the now if you ask me. This is evidently the most diverse film to come out in a while. The representation displayed in this film was a large part of my excitement. I held so much happiness that young girls of color, could see themselves on screen. I think this is where a lot of critics are getting A Wrinkle In Time wrong. THIS. IS. A. CHILDREN’S. MOVIE.

How can you possibly sit in the theater for this film as an adult, see a trailer for Show Dogs and think “Yes, the film I am about to watch can be understood and experienced by me in the way it’s supposed to”. This is a film targeted and for children. Period. How can an adult see Reese Witherspoon’s lettuce wings and think that this film is for them! It’s not! A Wrinkle in Time has flaws, but the one aspect it nails is wonder. A Wrinkle in Time is wonderous and heartfelt, and that’s something all audiences can see. I’m sure children experience this wonder further than any adult will. It’s something young children can relate to. 

This adventure so weak against adult audiences, especially audiences of today. That’s something to majorly consider when critiquing this film. Children are growing up in a time where the world really sucks. They’re growing up in a world where a lot of adults don’t believe in any form of hope. As many adults don’t believe in hope, some believe in revolution. A Wrinkle In Time does not highlight revolution, simply because children can’t comprehend that yet. In the time that we live in, children need to believe in hope and good before they believe in revolution. A Wrinkle In Time does that perfectly.

If I can go somewhere to watch a movie in a dark confined space and forget about Trump for the duration of said movie, that’s a positive viewing experience for me. No matter the quality of the film. Children aren’t on Letterboxd, they arent Rotten Tomatoes certified critics, they’re kids. They are the most innocent filmgoers, and they are A Wrinkle In Time’s target audience. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hello! And welcome to Girls On Film, a critique blog run by two female film geeks. We love film and believe it is vital to our culture, but we want a more intersectional and inclusive industry for women in this industry. Yes, we’re going there. We’ll discuss representation, both negative and positive, review and analyze films from a feminist standpoint, and generally put what we feel would be beneficial to women in film on this blog. We look forward to publishing our thoughts on the bizz in an age where the internet is becoming a bigger platform than written word. Our views and contribution to the film industry is just as important as any male critic. While we don’t know what our career paths may lead us to, we know we have a passion for film and want to channel our feminist identities and views through film critique. First, let’s introduce ourselves. Hey! My name is Katia. I’m a high school student with a love for fashion, art, comics, and of course film. I’m one of the bl
Read more

Highest Grossing Female Films in 2017: a Year in Review for Women in Film and the Work Still to be Done

Image
By Katia 2017 was a tumultuous year for film. Scandal upon scandal, film discourse and argument left and right, but its not too different from any other year in film. The Wrap recently released that three of the highest grossing films of 2017 were all lead by women, which is a beacon of hope and victory for women in the film industry. Althought this achievement is something to be celebrated, the case still stands. We still have a lot more work to do. This is the first time something like this has happened in 60 years. The three films listed were Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Beauty and the Beast, and Wonder Woman. While these films were lead by women, were they representing ALL women? Lets discuss. Star Wars: The Last Jedi needs no introduction. We know the story, characters old and new, far too well. Our female leads in this film are the late icon Carrie Fisher, the brilliant Daisy Ridley, and the talented newcomer Kelly Marie Tran. Star Wars has had its criticism for lack of d
Read more

Black Swan: The Price of Perfection

Image
By Katia Before you read this piece, there WILL be spoilers if you haven’t seen the film. This is your warning. In this piece, we’ll be exploring the further logic and analysis of Black Swan.  What Does it take to be perfect? At what point does perfection turn intoxicating?  My first watch of Black Swan was horrifying. I was genuinely horrified at this film. Black Swan is a terrifyingly stunning film. Watching this film, you are exposed to a intense passion. Nina is obsessed. She wants nothing more than to be the perfect “Swan”. Although we see this strive for perfection, her constant efforts to practice and perfect, we know there is an underlying sense of impending disaster and failure. While she is obsessed with the role, her superior is telling her to be authentic.  Authenticity in portraying the Swan Queen/Black Swan is something that is extremely difficult to achieve for Nina. In my opinion, there was no way Nina was going to portray the role she had envisioned
Read more