When Adaline (Blake Lively) suffers a freak accident, she finds she no longer ages. Unwilling to see those she loves grow old while she remains in her younger body she pushes away her daughter and assumes an alias. However, when she meets the charming Ellis Jones (Michiel Huisman) at a New Years Eve party she begins to let her guard down.
It is difficult to watch The Age of Adaline without drawing comparison to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, as both of the titular characters set about their stories on a different timeline to those that they share their lives with. But, The Age of Adaline is arguably much more mysterious in that there is no pre-defined ending.
This sense of unknowing is the film's strongest and weakest point. The beginning of the film sets the scene and introduces us to the freak accident that "creates" Adaline, before swiftly moving the story through a generation and her first loss. The problem is, this creates a sense of impending dread throughout the main story that there is no possible happy ending without a deus ex machina.
To its credit though, the film does handle some of its story elements very well, especially in not overdoing the introduction of Harrison Ford's minor character, William. It is really with William where the film starts to get interesting beyond Adaline's incessant indecision and constant dreary attitude.
Despite Adaline not being a particularly personable character, Blake Lively does well to keep the romance in the film ticking along, helped by the fantastic chemistry that she and Michiel Huisman share.
All in all then, a watchable date night film. There are better films with similar themes, but you won't regret watching it.
3 stars
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