Walt Disney Pictures
‘It was a dark and stormy night.’ Those seven words were chosen by Newbery Medal winning author Madeleine L’Engle to open up her 1962 bestselling novel A Wrinkle In Time. While the sentence serves as a gripping introduction to this wonderful piece of children’s literature, one could argue that it could also function as an accurate description of America today – dark and despairingly stormy. Directed by Ava DuVernay, a woman whom in my opinion deserves a holiday in her honor, Disney’s adaptation is full of positivity and moments of inspiration that are good for the soul. That’s my belief and we’re all entitled to our own.
While reviews have been, um, mixed, this writer humbly believes that A Wrinkle In Time is not only delightful, but sorely needed. What some critics failed to indicate is that the film is packed with wonderfully positive messages and key takeaways that not only benefit children, but people of all ages. Have a seat, folks. Let me count the ways.
Finding the right frequency
In the movie, the amazing Oprah Winfrey portrays Mrs. Which, the oldest and wisest of the three celestial beings that accompany protagonist Meg Murray on a quest to find her missing scientist father. However, in order to do so, 13-year-old Meg, played superbly by Storm Reid, must tesser or ‘wrinkle’ through time and the cosmos while jumping from planet to planet, which she has a bit of trouble doing. To offer encouragement, Mrs. Which tells her, ‘You just have to find the right frequency and have faith in who you are.’
This is a line that stuck with me after seeing the film twice. I’ve written it down on a Post-It note and have pinned it to my vision board. What does it mean exactly? Well, the way that I took it was that in order to succeed or be truly happy, you just need to find your groove or discover your element and trust in yourself. That’s sound advice for any person of any background, but for young children, I believe that the message is a really good one.
Diversity on screen
A Wrinkle In Time features one of the most wonderfully ethnically diverse casts in film, which I believe is just brilliant. It’s 2018 and the world is diverse. I yearn to see more films that depict this. What I loved, and one of the things I feel that DuVernay really got right, was the representation on screen. Meg’s family is diverse with a beautiful Black mother and Caucasian father. Meg, who is biracial, has an adopted Filipino brother played by the young Deric McCabe. Additionally, with other players such as Mexican actor Michael Peña as a henchman of the film’s antagonist, and the diversity of the story’s fun guides including the effortlessly talented Mindy Kaling as Mrs. Who and Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon as Mrs. Whatsit, A Wrinkle In Time is a film that enables people to see themselves on screen. Isn’t that worthy of celebration?
The future is female
Beyoncé Knowles said it best – ‘Who runs the world? Girls!’ In addition to the diversity on screen, the film is full of smart and capable women. Despite her many insecurities, Meg is depicted as clever, perceptive, and a true hero. Being an adaptation, the film does have several differences from the book, which I read for the first time last summer. One of those subtle yet key differences is that Meg’s mother, whom in the book is simply referred to as Mrs. Murray, is now Dr. Kate Murray. She’s a brilliant researcher in her own right and doesn’t take a backseat to her husband. While some may consider the change to be understated, I believe it is paramount and really helps to drive home the fact that little girls, and little boys, can accomplish anything that they put their minds to. In fact, it was Dr. Murray’s calculations that helped her husband ‘wrinkle’ through time in the first place. I’m just saying.
Keeping it real
While undoubtedly a fantasy film, it does have several moments of what I liked to refer to as ‘realness.’ Meg trying to fit in at her middle school is one of them. Calvin trying to continuously please his demanding father is another. However, one thing that I immediately picked up on was Meg’s issues with her hair and what she equates with perfection. There’s a lot to be said about that, which I won’t get into here, but I commend the fact that DuVernay went there. Like I indicated earlier, she deserves a holiday.
A remarkable affect on children
After its first week of release, some media outlets unfairly compared A Wrinkle In Time to Black Panther, a film that has become a cultural phenomenon. However, Black Panther is a blockbuster superhero film whereas Wrinkle is a whimsical fantasy aimed towards children and meant to inspire them. Judging by DuVernay’s Twitter feed, perchance it is safe to say that she achieved what she set out to do. Numerous parents, fathers and mothers, have been tweeting her images of their cheerful daughters – and ecstatic sons – at movie theaters or standing in front of the film’s movie posters. However, not only are parents sharing images with the director, but a significant number of people have taken to social media to share what the film means to them – including this writer. There have been people that have stated that they have been brought to tears during the film and people that have said they see themselves in Meg. It’s all very touching.
So, is A Wrinkle In Time perfect? No, but truthfully speaking, neither are half of the films that have been released recently. However, this movie has plenty of heart and positive themes which, in this day and age, makes it so worthwhile. The fact that it is resonating with children and striking a chord within people that may be struggling with their own insecurities is such a good thing. And while the world itself may feel dark and stormy, perchance the movie’s unadulterated positivity can appeal to the child inside each of us, which, in turn, may have some of us leave the theater with a new optimistic view on the current climate – one without a single cloud in the sky.
A Wrinkle in Time has a run time of 1 hour 49 minutes and is rated PG for thematic elements and some peril.
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