After the spectacular success of Black Panther, Disney’s expensive new family fantasy, A Wrinkle in Time, signals another milestone in Hollywood inclusion. It was directed by an African-American woman (Ava DuVernay), its cast is commendably diverse, and it centres on a mixed-race girl who likes science. This troubled kid (played by Storm Reid) is pitched into a journey through vibrantly hued alien worlds on a quest for her missing father (Chris Pine), accompanied by her little brother and a neighbourhood friend, and guided by three outlandishly costumed “witches”, played by Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling and Oprah Winfrey.
Reception for the movie has been mixed: it currently has a 40% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 53 on Metacritic. But the movie has found a legion of fans and admirers, and won praise for its charm, its positive vibes, and its diverse casting. For decades, Madeleine L’Engle’s source novel, published in 1962, was considered to be unfilmable. Is now the time? Did DuVernay iron out the wrinkles? What worked and what didn’t?
Ava DuVernay: saviour of Hollywood
A decade ago, DuVernay was a film publicist, struggling to get funding for her indie features and documentaries; now she’s the first African-American woman to direct a $100m-budget movie. The steps in between have also been impressive: Martin Luther King movie Selma, prison documentary 13th, TV series Queen Sugar, and next up, she’s directing comic-book movie The New Gods (which won’t be cheap either). She’s well-connected and well-established in the major leagues. What should she do with her power? Who else deserves a chance at a blockbuster?
Weird science
With fewer girls choosing Stem subjects at university, A Wrinkle in Time could be a refreshing corrective in that it depicts a girl engaging with scientific concepts, whose parents are both scientists. The movie’s universe-hopping premise depends on some pretty speculative theoretical physics, but does it clearly explain the science? Did you come out of it understanding what a tesseract is, for example? Does A Wrinkle in Time do a good job of promoting science education – especially among girls – or is it more of a missed opportunity?
Diversifying the text
To US readers, Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 novel is a school-library fixture. The story’s characters were almost all white in Disney’s 2003 TV movie adaptation, but DuVernay has consciously diversified her cast, bringing in actors such as Winfrey, Kaling and Michael Peña. In the novel, Meg’s mother is described as having “flaming red hair, creamy skin, and violet eyes with long dark lashes”. In the movie, she is played by brown-skinned, black-haired Gugu Mbatha-Raw. Furthermore, the movie makes Charles Wallace Meg’s adopted brother rather than a blood relative. He is played by Deric McCabe, an actor of Filipino descent, so their non-relatedness is conspicuously visible. How do these changes affect the story? Should more adaptations of classic texts follow DuVernay’s inclusive lead?
Is Oprah too big for the movies?
Oprah looms large in this movie. Her character, Mrs Which, is a gigantic, sparkly-eyebrowed demigoddess who towers over the tiny humans – which is probably about right considering her cultural status. Winfrey co-produced DuVernay’s Selma and Queen Sugar, and at times Wrinkle feels infused with her spiritual/self-empowerment sentiments. Is it possible to incorporate a cultural figure as huge as Oprah into a movie without capsizing it? Or is Oprah’s regal presence the seal of approval? And did they overdo it on the eyebrow sequins?
Could this be a new Disney franchise?
Beneath the refreshing diversity and lavish fantasy, A Wrinkle in Time is at heart a wholesome movie promoting family, faith and self-belief – and therefore right up Disney’s street. In his review, our own Peter Bradshaw compared the movie to Disney’s 60s family adventures. So would you like to see more? Because there is more: After A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle wrote four more books following the fortunes of the Murry family: a Time Quintet. In 1973 follow-up A Wind in the Door, for example, Meg and Calvin battle against doppelganger headmasters and journey into Charles Wallace’s mitochondria to save his life, which suggests a Fantastic Voyage-style miniaturisation adventure. In 1978’s A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Charles Wallace must travel back in time to avert a nuclear war. Is there an appetite for a franchise out there? Would you give a sequel the time of day?
