Meg Murray (Storm Reid) and her little brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) embark on a cosmic journey to find their missing father (Chris Pine). Joined by Meg's classmate Calvin O'Keefe (Levi Miller) and guided by the three mysterious astral travelers known as Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) and Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey), the children brave a dangerous journey to a planet that possesses all of the evil in the universe.
Our take: It's pretty enough to see in theaters.
Post credit scene? No.
While Wrinkle has its flaws and it may miss a few marks, it is ultimately an enjoyable 109 minutes. Director Ava DuVernay takes the viewers on a journey and if they allow themselves to suspend their disbelief and remember what it is like to be a child, it's an undeniably gratifying, beautiful, and inspired movie.
First of all, Disney stretched their production budget as far as they needed to and it is clear that no expense was spared. From the celestial couture of the "Mrs." and their frequent extravagant costume changes to the sweeping CGI landscapes and the shimmering waves of the "tesser" this production team really outdid itself in spectacular fashion. The visuals alone make it worthwhile and certainly worthy of a trip to the theater.
There's no denying that Wrinkle is a story that played well when it was written originally in the 1960's, nestled in the pages of a book that you might have read in the 4th grade. It's an easy read, but a hard movie to bring to the screen. The plot of the book is choppy, and the film stayed true to that, making sharp jumps from mesmerizing planet to planet, as well as scene to scene. There are some departures from the source material that seemed to be an attempt at overcoming the issues with the narrative therein, but it was clear that it hurt more than it helped. And while there weren't any gaping holes in the plot, there are quite a few moments that don't seem to make a whole lot of sense - even though we've read the book. But bridging the gaps in the narrative seemed to take a backseat to reinforcing the overall themes of the film, and perhaps that's okay.
The end result is a film that's completely digestible, regardless of the issues it might have. Every performance is strong, the message is powerful, and it makes strides for diversity and representation. As we said in our Annihilation review, we are all for smart, POC women taking the screen in roles as doctors and scientists, and in this case, a twelve-year-old physics prodigy that learns to love her natural hair.
Featuring: An immaculate performance by Reese Witherspoon. And one cannot ignore Disney's typical outstanding ability to sound mix, perfectly matching the orchestral arrangements to the mood in every scene, down to the second.
