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Allow me to start off by saying that I had the opportunity to check out this film on March 6, 2018. A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle was assigned reading for everyone in my class in 6th grade. Let’s put things into perspective right now – I’m currently in my second year of college. 6th grade was a long, long, LONG time ago. Back then, my mind wasn’t as developed as it is now. I wasn’t “woke”. I didn’t understand the book like I probably would now. With that being said, I won’t be comparing the movie to the book. It just wouldn’t be fair.
Perhaps my very grey interpretation of the book fueled my wonder for the Disney movie of the same title, which stars Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Michael Peña, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Zach Galifianakis, Chris Pine, and a cameo from Rowan Blanchard. Obviously, Disney and director Ava DuVernay were trying to pull the heart strings of children, but I’m a big kid too here. The story taps into issues that many kids today can and will relate to, such as bullying, depression, self-esteem issues, having only one parent living in the household, the list goes on.
Meg Murry (played by Storm Reid) and her brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) are the children of accomplished astrophysicists. One day, Alex, their father, decided to go explore the unknown. He was being held captive on a distant mystery planet that is constantly at risk of being consumed and destroyed by darkness, and Meg and Charles Wallace had not heard from their father in years. They are visited by the “Mrs.’”, three celestial goddesses who travel through time and different universes. With the help of Meg’s buddy Calvin O’Keefe, Meg and Charles Wallace decide to follow the Mrs. and embark on a challenging mission to reunite with their father and bring him back home.
Not only does the film encourage (their target demographic) to dream, believe, and keep fighting for what they want, it’s nothing less than an aesthetically pleasing visual feast. At times, the story did feel incomplete. It’s easy to tell that it was rushed, but it would be a lot to ask for a child (and myself) to sit still for more than two hours for a movie. Nevertheless, the message absolutely got across in the given time frame. “A Wrinkle In Time” reminds us that although darkness can come creep up on our minds and our hearts sometimes, we don’t have to completely let it take over.
‘A Wrinkle In Time’ hits theaters nationwide on March 9, and is rated PG.
