FILM: Audrey Niffenegger's best-seller was always going to be a hard film to adapt. Anthony Mingella showed with Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient that it was possible to bring even a book written as a stream of consciousness to screen.
But the linear progression of how we perceive what we see makes a love story that plays out in two directions of time, at the same time, problematic.
Director Robert Schwenke approaches this story totally from the love story angle, downplaying the sci-fi slant significantly.
While we can totally understand why Henry and Clare are attracted to each other, because Eric Bana and Rachel McAdam are a good-looking couple, much of the book's characterisation is lost in making sure as many of the events are covered as possible.
The message of holding on to the one you love, no matter what, is the stuff screen classics are made of, but unless you read the book it all just seems too illogical.
SPECIAL FEATURES: The feature on adapting the book to film provides much-needed context. - Theresa Smith
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