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The Time Traveler's Wife, written by Audrey Niffenegger
vs.
The Time Traveler's Wife, directed by Robert Schwentke
And the winner is: Audrey Niffenegger!
Artist Audrey Niffenegger debuted a brilliant debut novel in The Time Traveler's Wife. Imagine traveling backward and forward in time without any sense of how or why, and without any say in when or where you go. What about the people you leave behind -- what will they think and how will they react? Will they accept you for who you are, will they decide they can no longer be a part of your crazy, unpredictable life, or will they stick with you and worry themselves ill over your traveling? It may seem hard to imagine, however Niffenegger's artistic side manages to shine through her writing in The Time Traveler's Wife, painting scenes with such clarity that you don't even need to see the movie in order to imagine them.
Enter Henry DeTamble, with his rugged good looks and runner's physique. He's been time traveling ever since he was a young child, having first disappeared to another time and place during a fatal car accident that resulted in his mother's untimely demise. Although traveling has saved his life numerous times, it has also made his life quite difficult, alienating him from most people either because they do not understand, they cannot deal with it, or they do not know and have no patience for his "weird" antics. Not being able to stay in one place, especially if he wants to, can be rather annoying to not only him but also to anyone who comes close to him.
Enter Clare Abshire. Clare first meets Henry when she is but a young child, Henry having traveled back from a time where he is already married to her, but of course he doesn't tell her that. Got to keep her free will intact, just in case. So, Clare falls in love with Henry before she is even old enough to completely understand what love means. Somehow, the moments when Henry clearly shows his loving devotion to Clare despite her young age do not give any tinge of pedophilia, although they honestly probably should. The love they share is so timeless that it spans beyond their own lifetimes, seemingly into infinity. If only everyone could feel that kind of love, I think the world would be such a better place.
However, their story is not all sunshine and roses. Henry's time traveling can be quite problematic, like during their wedding (will he be able to stay in one place long enough to say, "I do"?), house-hunting (how is she supposed to take part in the process when he already knows what house they are supposed to have?), and whether or not they can create a child together without it having genetic abnormalities (which becomes a significant plot point). Typical relationship drama pales in comparison to the issues these two face, and the life they create with one another despite all of this rivals any and all great love stories.
This is just one more time where I'm going to say that the original novel is better than its film version. Robert Schwentke does a very good job of telling this story, however nothing can come close to the depth of its origination. Again, Audrey Niffenegger creates such a clear movie of her own in the novel that you don't even NEED a life-action movie to be able to form the images itself, but it is really nice to see the story acted out. Rachel McAdams plays a fantastic Clare and Henry is handsome-looking and very well-acted by Eric Bana. Both bring so much to the characters and it is quite enjoyable to see them interact and build the story on-screen. Although the effects and make-up crews of the film's production staff do a good job of physically altering the looks of the characters to show the different times of Henry's traveling, it is much easier to follow each trip in the original novel thanks to Niffenegger conveniently stating both Henry's and Clare's ages at the beginning of each scene. Yet another aspect where the book wins my heart over the film is how, when Henry and Clare "find" each other by accident in both their present times, it is clearly explained as to why Henry doesn't know her, while the movie makes it difficult to understand for someone who hasn't read the book.
I have to say that I am extremely pleased that the film left out the back story on a friend who has feelings for Clare. Certain events take place near the end of the novel that I feel could taint people's feelings about Clare and about the love between her and Henry, and I, for one, could have done without that. I appreciated that the film kept their love so intact. It was hard enough for Clare to continue loving Henry while going through all that they endure, that to throw in unrequited and unreciprocated love for her seems to ruin it a bit. It almost implies that perhaps she would've been better off not waiting for Henry at all, a concept that just seems wrong in such a beautifully deep love story.
The profound love Clare and Henry have for each other, and the many obstacles that they struggle through, make this one of the most meaningful love stories. While time-traveling is a concept that most people cannot relate to, the way Niffenegger unfolds this romance makes it almost too easy to connect with. The pain, the heartache, the longing, the good times and the bad are all too real not to understand. I would definitely recommend the book to almost anyone and, while I enjoyed the book more, I would still recommend the movie, as well. Both were beautifully composed.
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