A Wrinkle in Time wants to be a big, bold, family-friendly sci-fi adventure, and for about half of its running time, it almost pulls it off. Then it collapses under the weight of its own ambition, leaving behind a mess of missed opportunities and a $130 million question mark. This is a film that starts with genuine wonder and ends with a shrug.
The movie, directed by Ava DuVernay, is based on Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 novel of the same name. It follows Meg Murry, a thirteen-year-old bullied by her classmates, as she travels across the universe with her brother Charles Wallace and her friend Calvin O’Keefe to rescue her scientist father, Dr. Alex Murry. The trio are aided by three astral travelers known as Mrs. Which, Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Who. The setup is simple and elegant. The execution is less so.
Trailer, via Walt Disney Studios Canada.
Meg’s Bullying and Depression
Meg’s central struggle is the film’s strongest thread. She has been bullied since her father disappeared four years earlier, and her trauma shows in her behavior at school. The film spends real time establishing her anxiety and depression, and Storm Reid plays it with a quiet intensity that grounds the whole enterprise.
Her relationship with her adoptive brother Charles Wallace is also well-handled. Deric McCabe plays the boy with a mix of intelligence and vulnerability that makes him feel like a real character rather than a plot device. Their bond is tested throughout the film, especially when Charles Wallace is hypnotized by the villainous force known as the IT.
The Three Mrs. Ws
Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling play the three astral travelers, each with a distinct personality. Winfrey’s Mrs. Which is the eldest and most commanding of the trio. Witherspoon’s Mrs. Whatsit is warm and grandmotherly. Kaling’s Mrs. Who speaks entirely in quotations, a gimmick that occasionally works and often doesn’t.
The three performers are all committed, but the script doesn’t always give them room to breathe. Their dialogue is often exposition-heavy, and the film leans on their presence to explain concepts that might be better shown. Still, they anchor the film’s central mystery, and their scenes together crackle with energy.
Calvin O’Keefe and Veronica Kiley
Levi Miller plays Calvin, Meg’s classmate and friend, with a warmth that makes him easy to root for. His dinner at the Murry house is one of the film’s best sequences, a moment of normalcy in a story that spends most of its time in outer space. Rowan Blanchard plays Veronica Kiley, the student who bullies Meg, and the film eventually reveals that Veronica suffers from body dysmorphia, a twist that feels like a cheap way to soften a character who has spent most of the film being cruel.
The Villain Problem
The villain of A Wrinkle in Time is the IT, a dark energy that spreads negativity across the universe. It takes many forms, including Red, played by Zach Galifianakis, and its true diabolical form, played by David Oyelowo. The problem is that the IT never quite becomes a threat. It is introduced with menace, but the film never commits to making it scary.
Galifianakis, in particular, is a misfire. He plays Red as a bumbling, cartoonish figure, and the film’s attempts to make him genuinely frightening fall flat. Oyelowo’s performance is more effective, but he is given too little screen time to make a lasting impression. The IT remains a concept rather than a character, and that is a failure of imagination.
The Camazotz Sequence
The climax of the film involves a tesseract jump to the planet Camazotz, home to the IT. Here, Meg’s determination overpowers the tesseract, redirecting it to Camazotz instead of the intended destination. The sequence is visually ambitious, with flowers and flying creatures, but it feels rushed. The film spends so little time establishing what Camazotz is that the stakes never land.
The film also introduces Camazotz Woman, played by Bellamy Young, and Elegant Man, played by Conrad Roberts, as residents of the planet. These characters add texture to the world, but they are secondary figures in a story that already has too many of them.
The Happy Medium
Happy Medium, played by Galifianakis, is supposed to be a seer from the planet Orion who helps Meg overcome her self-doubt. The scene where this happens is a highlight, with Galifianakis playing the role with a sincerity that cuts through his usual clowning. But the film doesn’t know what to do with him after that. He disappears from the story almost immediately, and his role as a seer is never fully explained.
The Cast and the Budget
The cast is the film’s biggest strength. Reid, Winfrey, Witherspoon, Kaling, Pine and Mbatha-Raw all bring gravitas to their roles. The film’s $103 million budget made it the first $100-million-budget live-action film directed by an African-American woman, and that achievement is worth noting. But the budget is also a burden. The film’s effects are uneven, with some shots looking sharp and others feeling cheap.
Ramin Djawadi composed and conducted the score, and his work is competent but unremarkable. It does its job of underscoring the emotion of the story without drawing attention to itself.
What Works and What Doesn’t
Here’s how the film breaks down:
- Meg’s characterization — strong
- The relationships between Meg, Charles Wallace and Calvin — strong
- The performances by the three Mrs. Ws — strong
- The Camazotz sequence — weak
- The IT as a villain — weakest
- The pacing in the second half — rushed
The film’s first hour is a model of clarity. It introduces the characters, establishes the stakes, and sets up the journey with a sense of wonder. Then the second half happens, and the momentum stalls. The tesseract jumps become a blur, the villains lose their menace, and the climax feels like a letdown.
The Box Office Bomb
The film was a box-office disaster. It lost $130.6 million at the box office, a figure that looms over any discussion of the film. That loss is a shame, because there is a good movie buried inside this one. It is a film about family, about courage, and about finding hope in darkness. It simply never quite finds the courage to commit to those ideas.
The Verdict
A Wrinkle in Time is a film with a great premise and a middling execution. It is a movie that will appeal to families looking for a science fiction adventure, but it will frustrate anyone looking for a coherent story. The cast is excellent, the concept is fascinating, and the heart is in the right place. But the film is too busy trying to be everything to everyone to succeed at anything.
It is a film that deserves a second chance, but it is also a film that failed to earn one. The IT may spread negativity throughout the universe, but A Wrinkle in Time spreads disappointment in theaters. It is a film that will be remembered more for its failure than its ambition.
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