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MOVIE REVIEW

A Wrinkle in Time

MPA Rating: PG-Rating (MPA) for thematic elements and some peril.

Reviewed by: Blake Wilson
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Average
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: • Family • Teens
Genre: Sci-Fi Fantasy Adventure Adaptation 3D
Length: 1 hr. 49 min.
Year of Release: 2018
USA Release: March 9, 2018 (wide—3,980 theaters)
DVD: June 5, 2018
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Relevant Issues
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“The Happy Medium” who uses a crystal ball

What is the Occult? Answer

THE OCCULT—What does the Bible say about it? Answer

What is the true nature of spiritual darkness and evil in our world?

Are unregenerate human beings basically good deep down inside—or profoundly fallen, full of sin and enemies of God?

Is it possible, as the film sugguests, for one to become truly good and conquer spiritual darkness and evil ON ONE’s OWN, WITHOUT Jesus Christ?

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Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which—3 ancient supernatural star-beings/aliens (disguised as humans) who can transport people throughout the universe by means of a tesseract

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Frienship

Family

Forgiveness

The weird world of quantum physics

Is the universe really filled with extreterrestrial intelligent life? What does the Bible say about intelligent life on other planets? Answer

Are we alone in the universe? Answer

Does Scripture refer to life in space? Answer

What is Christian LOVE? Answer

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The story indicates that Earth and the universe is under attack from an evil entity

Who is SATAN, the enemy of God and all people? Answer

Is Satan A REAL PERSON that influences our world today? Is he affecting you? Answer

SATAN’S STRATEGY—What is one of Satan’s most successful strategies in dealing with followers of Christ? Answer


The problem of evil

ORIGIN OF BAD—How did bad things come about? Answer

Did God make the world the way it is now? What kind of world would you create? Answer


Teen Qs—Christian Answers® for teenagers
Teens—Have questions? Find answers in our popular TeenQs section. Get answers to your questions about life, dating and much more.
Featuring Storm Reid … Meg
Oprah WinfreyMrs. Which
Reese WitherspoonMrs. Whatsit
Mindy Kaling … Mrs. Who
Levi Miller … Calvin
Deric McCabe … Charles Wallace
Chris PineMr. Murry
Gugu Mbatha-RawMrs. Murry
Zach Galifianakis … The Happy Medium
Michael Peña … Red
André Holland … Principal Jenkins
Rowan Blanchard … Veronica Kiley
Bellamy Young … Camazotz Woman
David Oyelowo … The It
Conrad Roberts … Elegant Man
Yvette Cason … Mrs. Teacher
Will McCormack … Mr. Teacher
Daniel MacPherson … Calvin's Father
See all »
Director Ava DuVernay — “Selma” (2014), “13th” (2016)
Producer Adam Borba
Catherine Hand
See all »
Distributor Walt Disney PicturesWalt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

“Be a warrior!” urges Oprah as Mrs. Which

Meg Murray (Storm Reid) is a 13-year old still trying to comprehend what happened to her Father (Chris Pine), who mysteriously disappeared four years before. The truth is, life is far from easy for Meg. She’s picked on by other students and regularly meets with the principal. Her adopted brother, Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe), tries to stand up for her, but inadvertently only makes things worse.

One day, in the middle of a stormy night, the Murrays are visited by a mysterious woman by the name Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon). She reveals to the family that their father made a remarkable discovery about a “Tesseract”. The next day, Charles Wallace leads Meg and a school friend named Calvin (Levi Miller) to Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling). It is through these two odd women that they find out that Meg’s father is alive and trapped by a dark force called “The It” (and no, this absolutely has no relation to the Stephen King novel). And it is up to these three kids to go save him.

Entertainment Quality

“A Wrinkle in Time” definitely has some strong moments, led by some very colorful visuals. Some scenes are stunning, while some are a little over-the-top. One highlight includes a scene where the kids are riding on a leaf creature above mountains and valleys. The climactic action sequence is also visually-stunning. The costumes are interesting and very colorful, and could be a contender for next year’s Oscars.

The film has some solid performances. Storm Reid proves to be very capable as Meg. She convincingly shows both tough-minded and insecure sides of her personality. McCabe nearly steals the movie from her, with a likable personality and a strong commanding presence. While Witherspoon, Kaling and Oprah Winfrey are given top billing, they aren’t in the movie as much as you would expect. Witherspoon gets the most screen time out of the three, and she gives a likable performance as an animated, naïve universe traveler. Later in the film, they completely disappear for a long stretch, as if they are only there to be video game guides. Zach Galifianakis gets a strong scene, and Pine is a very likable presence as Meg’s father.

There are a handful of quiet scenes here and there that work very well. The reconciliation scene between Meg and her father, in particular, is one of the film’s best moments. However, these scenes (and just about the whole film) are undercut by repetitive and near-constant facial close-up cinematography. I did read this was a style that director Ava DuVernay utilizes. But I thought the technique was very distracting and even uncomfortable at times. Indeed, some scenes would have been better executed had they not been so close all the time.

Also, this film doesn’t take the time to adequately explain some particularly heady ideas. This error makes the overall story somewhat confusing at times, as the plot itself can get really “out there.” There are a few scenes that have some very wooden dialog, particularly between Meg and Calvin.

Positive Messages

There are some strong reminders of the importance of unconditional love, particularly toward the end of the movie. ***SPOILEr*** The It possesses Charles Wallace to try and put fear into Meg and manipulate her to join the darkside. In order to defeat him and free her brother, Meg tells Charles repeatedly that she loves him regardless. It is through this that Charles is freed, and The It is defeated. Meg doesn’t win the day simply because of her own strength. She defeats it because of her unconditional love for her brother. This reminded me of 1 John 4:18, which reminds us of how love overpowers fear.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

The It (which is not too far from the being we know as Satan) tries to tempt Meg by showing her a “more likable” image of herself that he claims “will be popular” if she joins the darkside. Struggling with insecurity throughout the film, Meg grows to resist this temptation and embraces who she is, looks and all. She’s encouraged to embrace her faults, as they help make her who she is. It is through her growing confidence that Meg finds the strength to become (as the three Mrs. say) a warrior. I found this to be an echo of Psalm 139:14:

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well.

The film also emphasizes a positive message of forgiveness. Meg’s father apologizes for unintentionally abandoning his family, and Meg runs to him with open arms. In the meantime, Meg willingly risks her life for others. There’s a nod to the importance of honesty when The Happy Medium (Galifianakis) says, “It’s OK to fear the answers. But you can’t avoid them.”

Negative Elements

Language: I heard one use of “oh g**.” Besides that, there are no other uses of bad language (the closest we hear otherwise is a use each of “dang!” and “shut up!”).

Adult Content: There is apparent attraction between Calvin and Meg, but they are only shown hugging once and holding hands once. Meg’s parents kiss once. There is some light flirting between Whatsit and The Happy Medium. One odd moment shows Whatsit changing out of her dress (we see the top of her shoulders at one point, and Calvin and Charles Wallace close their eyes in shock. It turns out, however, that she’s changing form off-screen into a leaf creature).

Violence: A couple of intense scenes might prove to be too scary for younger children. One disaster scene involves a raging cloud of dust running towards Meg and Calvin, causing tornadic-like destruction wherever it goes. Meg and Calvin hide inside a tree truck and are thrown over a cliff by this phenomenon. Another scene involves The It having scary glow-in-the-dark “arms” that quickly attack in a dark room—over and over again. Charles Wallace, possessed by The It, throws and drags people around. One character literally falls apart (robotically), and someone falls from great heights. Meg smacks someone in the face with a basketball (but she is reprimanded for this). Meg often wakes up in pain as a result of “tessering,” or mental travel. Someone gets kicked (off-screen).

Drugs/Alcohol: None

Other: The It is apparently responsible for many bad things on Earth, we come to learn. Characters act selfishly and disrespectfully at times (but these behaviors are never encouraged).

One scene involves Eastern-style meditation. Buddha is quoted once, as are a few other religious figures. It is important to note that the original book reportedly quoted the Bible a handful of times. However, the movie seems devoid of these references, in a possibly intentional attempt to be more “inclusive.”

Editor’s Note: A basic message of this movie is “believe in yourself,” “I believe in ME,” and some of the New Age concept of embracing “oneness with the universe.” The film also sugguests that it is possible for humans to become truly good and conquer spiritual darkness and evil on their OWN, WITHOUT Jesus Christ. These teachings ignore the true sinful nature of fallen mankind, the existence of our powerful and active Creator God, and the critical importance of Christ and the Holy Spirit in defeating darkness and evil.

Conclusion

Based on the 1962 children’s novel, “A Wrinkle in Time” is certainly an ambitious film. DuVernay pulls out all the stops to make a visual blockbuster for the eyes that also speaks to the heart. Like “Black Panther” last month, “…Wrinkle…” breaks ground for the film industry by having an African-American female director at the helm of an expensive production.

That being said, despite the admirable ambitions it has (and some solid performances), I didn’t find this film in itself to be special. It may be visually impressive, but it doesn’t offer much beyond a typical “hero’s journey.” At the same time, it’s pretty heady and “out there,” which will make it more difficult for those who haven’t read Madeline L’Engle’s book (like myself) to really be engaged.

There’s a couple of scenes that will likely scare young viewers. And the film seems to lean toward a New Age worldview that encourages self-promotion over relying on a higher authority. On the other hand, the film does carry strong messages of unconditional love, forgiveness, and the dangers of insecurities.

I didn’t find it to be a bad film. And it’s certainly not as bad as some critics say it is. I give a lot of credit to DuVernay for trying really hard to make the film unique and different. As far as the aesthetics and some of the themes go, she succeeds. But the overall result makes the film’s visuals more unique and interesting than the story itself.

  • Violence: Moderate
  • Profane language: Minor
  • Vulgar/Crude language: None
  • Nudity: None
  • Sex: None

Concerns about the teachings of Madeleine L'Engle, the author of A Wrinkle in Time

  • Born: 1918 / Died: 2007
  • Faith: Liberal Episcopalian with New Age and mysticism beliefs—“official writer-in-residence at New York City’s Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine, which is known for its prominent position in the liberal wing of the Episcopal Church”—a church which some have called apostate and very New Age
  • EVOLUTIONIST—She was a theistic Evolutionist, enamored with science claims about the universe. “I read very widely. I have friends who send me the magazine Discover and scientific articles they think I’ll be interested in. So I'm able to keep up with what's going in the world of physics and particle physics, which to me is theology. These people are dealing with the nature of being—which to me is theology much more than that of the theologians, who argue about peripheral things.”
  • UNIVERALIST—She believed in and promoted the unbiblical idea of universal salvation—that is, that EVERYONE who has ever lived is going—or has gone—to be with God, and there is no Hell. Naturally, this made her very popular with many. —Rebuttals: Will all mankind eventually be saved? Answer / HELL: Fact or Fiction—Is it an actual place? Answer
  • She believed that parts of the Bible are “fantasy.”
  • She falsely claimed that Jesus was not sinless (A Stone for a Pillow, p. 176).
  • Religions of the world were honored by her as bearers of truth and light, and enemies of darkness. —Rebuttal: RELIGIONS—Many ways to God? Aren’t all religions basically the same? Answer
  • Given her belief in Universalism, it is not suprising that she was dismissive of the wrath of God, the fear of the Lord and Christ’s death in atonement for our sins. In New Age fashion, she twisted the word “atonement” to mean “at-one-ment” with the universe (p. 203).
  • She wrote that mankind is not the “pinnacle of creation” and that we are no more important in God’s view than “stars or butterflies or baboons,” because we are all part of “the whole” (pp. 202-203). (To the contrary, God’s Word reveals clearly that Adam was created in the image of God, was given dominion over His creatures (Gen. 1:26-28) and humanity is in God’s prime focus from the beginning of Creation, throughout history and into the future—designed to commune with God and bring glory to Him.)
  • In summary, Madeleine confused truth with great errors, rejected the true God of the Bible and His inerrant Word—discarding parts of the Bible she disliked. Like so many people in our time, she preferred to believe in an imaginary divinity of human invention—more to her own liking.
  • Through over 40 books for children and adults, seminars, and personal appearances, her influence was strong and widespread.

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive
Positive—I’m surprised at the negative responses to “A Wrinkle in Time.” I rented it, and saw God’s fingerprints all over it, in the messages of redemption, hope, finding courage despite fear, in the presence of the three messengers (angels), in the allegory about “It” (evil) and its infection of the world / cosmos, and in the references to sameness (in the village of clones) being an example of subtle but nevertheless troubling evil; it has parallels about self-sacrifice at the end, as well as messages about ego causing one character to fall into It’s influence. It’s true the movie has watered down the more blatant allegorical elements of the book, but I did not see its central theme as being focused on a New Age message of self-reliance at all—rather, it’s the story of Overcoming Fear. Meg has to find her courage. The idea of trusting in yourself, in learning to be brave, in my opinion, is not anti-Jesus—after all, He has not given us a spirit of timidity and fear, but of power and love—and it is this love Meg uses to reach one who is temporarily lost, and defeat evil.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Charity, age 35 (USA)
Neutral
Neutral—The movie hijacks the women’s equality movement and misdirects it into a mystical, New Age philosophy. It hits all the right notes about love and family, confidence and self-worth, but carries the latter to extremes in claiming that we can solve all our problems without help from any higher power. This point is driven home as the closing song repeats, “I believe in me!” We are given spirit guides, somewhat reminiscent of a coven, who lead us to a medium.

The story has good humanistic values, cinematography and acting; but some action would be too intense for sensitive children.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 3
Brian Schacht (Canada)
Negative
Negative—I minister to the youth at our church K-5th, and I would not recommend this movie due to its New Age message. Trying to lead children to Christ and to teach them to understand and embrace the truths of Scripture is already difficult. When their minds are filled with messages that are similar but conflict with Biblical truth will confuse and cause them to stumble in their journey with or to the Lord Jesus.

I also have not read the book, but found the movie to be boring at points and confusing. It didn’t always flow as a story and seemed to push special effects for effects and not for the value of the story. As the other reviewer hit the nail on the head regarding the author and her message. And when the youngest boy becomes possessed by “IT” and looked very demonic, it was disturbing. I would not recommend this movie to any Christian children.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3
Sharon Ulstad, age 57 (USA)
Negative—Apart from parts of the movie seeming very clumsy and flat, I found the counterfeit “Godhead of the three women very disturbing. They claimed to be the “Light” but were not powerful enough to dispel the darkness. I would not recommend this film to Christian children (or any children) due to the underlying message that humanity can save itself, rather than through Jesus” saving act of destroying death and darkness and reconciling us back to God on the cross.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Jackie, age 54 (Australia)
Negative—I brought my 12 year old son to see this movie, with hopes that it would get him to read the book. Unfortunately, he was bored. I can’t blame him. It was a confusing story to follow and, although the movie had wonderful actors and special effects, it fell flat. Overall, a disappointment.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Ellen, age 50 (USA)
Negative— …With the biblical principles stripped away, “A Wrinkle in Time” is essentially a naked attempt at New Age propaganda. …cloaked in the moth-eaten fabric of cunning deception and hollow self-worship. …and one-dimensional feminist ideology. …As is representative of the modern payback currency of Hollywood’s brand of superficial thought, the male characters in the movie are either evil or inept. …
Dr. James Hirsen (USA)
Negative—…I wished I would have just skipped it all together. As far as moviemaking goes, the movie is pretty decent; the special effects are very impressive (as is to be expected from Disney), and the acting is good. However, the movie seriously strays from the real point of the book and goes out of its way to remove the Biblical messages and references to Jesus Christ in Madeleine L'Engle’s classic novel.

As per usual with Hollywood, they weren’t afraid to have characters quote Buddha or mention Ghandi, but Jesus Christ? No, of course not! If they so much as say Jesus” Name in a movie, someone out there might get offended!

To top it all off, in straying from the message of the book that this movie is very loosely based upon, the movie’s plot is a mess, and it just ends with a generic “believe in yourself” message (which a good message, don’t get me wrong. It’s just been done before millions of times, and it gets kind of old after a while).

I think this movie is a good representation of what happens when you try to remove God from everything: all you get is a pointless, incoherent mess.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Jessica, age 25 (USA)
Negative—Good film, but bastardization of the book. Why must diversity be forced? Why must the Christian themes be removed?
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 5
Helen (USA)
Negative—I finally turned this movie off when the main characters in need of help went searching for the “medium” to assist them. The movie starts with “celestial spirit guides”, three female guides… a godhead perhaps, that want you to believe they’re enlightened. They are the “light”… yet one is clearly naïve. One of the spirit guides (Mrs. Who), instead of quoting the Bible, as in the book, uses quotes spoken from other world religious leaders instead. (The first few quotes were from Lebanon, Persia, and Buddha, I believe.)

Another spirit leader, Mrs. Whatsit (she enjoys storms), kicks the female lead (Meg) while on the ground, presumably hurt, to see if she’s okay. Later in the film Meg’s younger brother becomes (what appears to be) demon possessed by “IT.” He gets violent against his father…, and he looks evil, although he’s so young.

What I watched (about half the movie) was spiritual/mystical in nature with an underlining message that an individual can conquer the darkness/evil if they believe in love. Yet the movie is confusing, because obviously the son and dad couldn’t overcome the evil. Meg had to save them both. I found the movie devoid of Christ, while it embraced and supported strong universal New Age themes. The theme was obvious (not hidden), even though the director wrapped up everything in fancy costumes, color, and scenery.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2
Josephina, age 55 (USA)

PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here.

Secular Movie Critics
…It’s also all over the map, in every way possible. It’s visually gorgeous at times but then boring to behold at others, emotionally poignant at times but stunningly cloying at others. It’s also confusing… Mostly, it’s just a frustrating whole comprised of some pretty promising parts. …
Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press
…Director Ava DuVernay’s version of the beloved children’s classic has a big cast and the best of intentions. It’s socially progressive, racially diverse and packed with positive messages. It’s just not much fun. …
Stephen Whitty, New York Daily News
…it’s only Storm Reid's character who feels multidimensional. …
Jake Cole, Slant magazine
…It’s conscientious. It’s watchable, and it’s never less than competent. But it seems to strive so hard to be inspirational, rather than letting the inspiration come through the story, that it becomes preachy and self-conscious. …
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
…“A Wrinkle in Time” is wildly uneven, weirdly suspenseless, and tonally all over the place, relying on wall-to-wall music to supply the missing emotional connection and trowel over huge plot holes…
Peter Debruge, Variety
…as an emotionally satisfying experience, it’s a bust. …
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
…a magical mystery tour minus the magic and mystery, and a great disappointment…
Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal
…It’s honestly a little baffling how so many good choices could produce something so frustrating. …
Matt Singer, ScreenCrush
Comments from non-viewers
Negative—I was going to take my two young children to see “A Wrinkle In Time” but chose not to. Why? I’d read this article and another article at a Christian Web site that pointed out that Disney had taken out all references to God out of their movie version. As a Christian, I can’t allow my kids to watch a movie that allows censorship of Christian beliefs and values. What a big disappointment!
Lynette, age 45 (USA)