A Wrinkle in Time

What’s the Story?

When astrophysicist Dr. Jack Murry (Chris Potter) disappears without a trace, his children, Meg (Katie Stuart) and Charles Wallace (David Dorfman), and neighbor Calvin O'Keefe (Gregory Smith) take it upon themselves to find him. Guided by Mrs. Whatsit (Alfre Woodard), Mrs. Who (Alison Elliott) and Mrs. Which (Kate Nelligan), the children embark on a cosmic quest before finally reaching the dark planet, Camazotz, where they encounter a society of human beings controlled by an evil force. They must use their collective and personal strengths to find Dr. Murry and save their own lives.

Is It Any Good?

You have to admire the guts of whoever tries to squeeze this beloved children's book into two hours. And, like any slipper that's the wrong size for a foot, this production rubs the wrong way in several crucial spots. Gamely performed by the kids, the adult roles are sadly cartoonish and two dimensional despite the presence of the marvelous Kate Nelligan and Alfre Woodard. This film adaptation might come as a disappointment to fans of the book because it doesn't do an adequate job of portraying the evil of IT. Instead of being menacing, IT is a campy mass of snake-line tissue, never fully revealed. The darkness is also never fully explained and the resolution of the struggle is so quick that if you get up to fetch a tissue, you will miss it entirely. Sadly, the ending just doesn't move or satisfy and the transformations of the characters, so powerful in the book, remain superficial in this version.