The Age of Adaline [DVD]

If you haven't seen The Age of Adaline, you are missing one of the greatest film viewing experiences ever created in the annals of filmdom. It is a romantic journey and the performances of the entire cast is impeccable. There is something for everybody in the telling of this saga. You will be transported through a journey that will lift your spirits, enthrall you intellect, and reintroduce you to a Hollywood that has been absent for many decades. I love the cinema of the Golden Age and quite honestly have not kept up with most of the Hollywood films being produced these days. This film will draw you in and you will not be able to leave your seat until this charming, emotional and beguiling story is unraveled before you. Believe me. I love this film and I think it may be one of the greatest films ever produced in the entire history of American artistry. Buy it, watch it and be thankful we have Blake Lively creating a screen performance that will rival any romantic and thoughtful film ever made. I guarantee it!

Adaline Bowman is effectively immortal, trapped in a non-aging state after a mysterious, miraculous event. This is not a good thing, as she has a daughter who ages while she does not, friends who have to be left behind, and authorities at all levels of government who become suspicious of her, and make no bones about 'running a few tests' on her, forcing her into a terrified isolation for over 60 years. Her best friend after all that time is an older blind woman, who speaks to and about Adaline like a contemporary, much to the confusion lo others who can see what Adaline looks like.The story is a romance, in which Adaline, who has used her extended life to pick up an astonishing array of skills, especially languages, attracts the attention of a wealthy philanthropist. He rather aggressively courts her while she equally aggressively pushes him away, until her now-elderly daughter pushes her into the relationship as well. Then she accompanies him to his family home and meets his parents, especially his father, William, one of her own former lovers, who recognizes her instantly, and her fears come crashing down.Strengths: Blake Lively really pulls off the incredible job of acting like a woman with over a century's worth of experience, right from the very first scene, in which she's buying new identity cards from a forger named Tony. (Except he's really Jeff, as she quickly learns, and she warns him about the little things tripping him up.) Harrison Ford does a great job as the boyfriend she left behind, who recognizes her for what she is and reacts with love and sorrow for her. The cirty of San Francisco is a wonderful backdrop, beautifully filmed, that also highlights her life. She's certainly had her ups and downs, and she needs a few bridges in her life. I especially loved the short description of the miraculous event: 'due to <a scientific principle the name of which I've forgotten>, which will be discovered in 2035, she is immune to the ravages of time.' A clever and amusing way to fit this into the world and just leave it at that.Weaknesses: The wealthy philanthropist who pursues her is effectively a stalker, showing up at her job, and then outside her house. Despite the sophistication of his actions, his motivations are for the most part selfish. Only her own great loneliness and her daughter's urging keep Adaline from running away instantly, and to his credit, his devotion is true, if badly expressed. Fortunately Adaline is wise enough to see past that.

Decent movie! Love this actress. A little creepy the dad of the boy she wanted to marry was in love with her.

Good movie, first time i ordered this dvd the case was broken cause it wasn’t packaged good enough and they wouldn’t let me replace it so I had to get a refund then later on I ordered it again and it came perfect.

Interesting concept that at least has some pseudo-science basis, When Adaline drives her car into the water at 29, and due to her submission in ice cold water, it drastically slows her heart rate and her bodily functions down, so that when she is able to gasp air after a lightning bolt strikes the water and acts as a defibrillator, and she awakens is within the realm of scientific possibility; obvious the explanation of her now immortality based on some DNA discovery that will occur in 2035 is not very believable. But name any movie in the world that doesn't use some artistic license and they could have written it in a much more fairy tale way, so they didn't completely insult our intelligence. It is almost a quasi period piece as early in the film, Adeline, who works at a S.F. Historical Center, spends about 10 minutes watching the history of S.F. from the turn of the century. There are also constant flashbacks to different periods in Adaline's life, like when she gets pulled over by a cop in 1956 (and her birth certificate shows her age to be 48 which is when she realizes she has to start changing identities every decade and move to another city, and the only person she can tell is her daughter (her husband died while building the Golden Gate Bridge). I find the scenes with her daughter over the years very moving. They stay together until it's no longer possible to explain away that her daughter looks older than Adaline with special face cream, that she can no longer be seen with her daughter anywhere people might know them. The joke about them looking like sisters isn't selling it at a certain time, and I found their relationship which seems very close and special dwindle away because of the age difference. Even though he only had maye 20 minutes of screen time, I thought Harrison Ford's performance was sensational. SPOIER ALERT: When he is first told thst Jennifer (Adaline's current identity) is Adaline's daughter when Harrison Ford's son Ellis brings Adaline to meet his parents, and Ford is blown away at the resemblance of "Jennifer" and a girl he knew well in England in 1966, he has an amazingly believable incredulous response. And then when he figures out Jennifer is actually his Adaline, he's a very believable combination of near speechlessness, trembling and on the verge of tears. You can imagine the varying number of emotions hitting him at once, and he acts them out beautifully.Side note: In the flashback to London in 1966, Adaline is played by Adaline, as there was no need to make her look younger; the whole point is that she never aged. But to get a 20;s something boy they couldn't use Ford, and they casted an actor in his place. I'd believe it if the actor playing the younger Ford was related to Ford. He looks exactly like you'd imagine a young 20's Ford to look like but more remarkable han that was his speech. His tone and inflection were so identical to Ford's I wonder if it was dubbed in.

Wonderful movie