Age of Adaline Review: Pretty yet Shallow Romance

Age of Adaline looked promising in the beginning. Thanks to Hugh Ross, the premise sounds interesting even though it has a ridiculous plot device.

The movie looks elegant and detailed. Wide-angle and tracking shots capture the sophisticated Adaline and the beauty of San Francisco. Production design added details to make every time period and Adaline’s decades-old belongings distinct. This includes the now rare photo album with sepia pictures, which has the same breed of family dog over the years.

Blake Lively finally had the chance to play a character that doesn’t rely on her looks and did well. She plays a refined but world-weary old soul. The men around her are portrayed by good actors too.

Beyond that, the Age of Adaline doesn’t have much because it prefers to play it safe.

The narrative is executed well, but it doesn’t explore its premise and commit to the silliness of its idea.  Is Adaline immortal?  The obvious subject here would be eternal youth, but the movie glosses over that too. There’s an interesting dynamic between young Adaline and her aging daughter, but the talents of Ellen Burstyn go underused.

The movie barely scratches the surface of a woman who has decades of experience concealing her identity and running away from suspicious individuals while distancing herself from anyone except her daughter.

Rather than adding depth to any of its characters, it morphs into a Nicholas Sparks movie adaptation.

Lively’s character arc revolves around a guy. Meanwhile, Michiel Huisman is reduced to a one-dimensional romantic. It’s unconvincing why Adaline wouldn’t commit to this guy who is a convenient gallant knight that would wax poetic about eternal love.

Like any other Sparks movie, it’s eventually filled with convenient contrivances and predictable twists of fate as the plot progresses. You’ll already know how it will end once the love interest shows up.

Age of Adaline has the elements to add more to its formulaic love story but only uses its plot device as decoration.