A Wrinkle in Time

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.”

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.

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