Yesterday Suzanne and I went to see A Wrinkle in Time. What an interesting movie! It’s based on the “un-adaptable” 1962 novel by Madeleine L’Engle, which is still in print.
Meg Murray (Storm Reid) is a thirteen year old girl. Her parents (Chris Pine and Gugu Mbatha-Raw) are brilliant physicists who have been working on an astrophysical theory of tesseracts, which can wrinkle time and let one travel across the Universe. While exploring this theory, Meg’s father disappeared. It has been four years, and Meg is going through all the normal problems of adolescence. But she wants to find her father.
Meg’s younger brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe), who is always referred to by both names for some reason, has made contact with a powerful entity known as Mrs. Whatsit, engagingly played by Reese Witherspoon. Mrs. Whatsit confirms that tesseracts are real and that Mr. Murry has “tessered” to a faraway part of the Universe. She suggests that Meg and Charles Wallace can find their father.
They encounter two others, the quote-spouting Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) and the eldest of the group, Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey.) The three reveal themselves to be astral beings and they lead Meg, Charles Wallace, and Meg’s friend Calvin (who has a crush on Meg) to find Mr. Murry. Calvin has issues with his own father, so he looks forward to the adventure.
Along the way, they encounter such entities as the Happy Medium (Zach Galifianakis.) It is revealed that their father has been captured by the It, an “evil” entity that, as Mrs. Which explains, “represents all of the greed, anger, pride, selfishness, and low self-esteem in the world.” It lives on a planet named Camazotz, which is where Mr. Murry is being held.
Meg’s determination to find her dad lands them all on Camazotz, where the Mrs. depart, saying that the energy of the It is diminishing their light. Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin are left to find Mr. Murry. But some strange things happen to Charles Wallace along the way, which only dissipate due to the persistent love of Meg.
Do they return to Earth? Is all well that ends well? How will the adventure end? For that, you’ll have to see the movie.
What do we learn from A Wrinkle in Time? Well, for one thing, the power of love to overcome the appearance of evil. Love is the most powerful force in the Universe.
For another thing, we learn of the power of a determined mind. The travelers land on Camazotz due to Meg’s insistence on finding her father. And it is by the force of her determination that they move through all the obstacles and traps the It sets up for them. A Wrinkle in Time reminds us of the power of mind.
And we have to walk through the storms, through the obstacles, through the traps, if we’re to achieve what we set out to achieve. We must be willing to face the It in our lives and keep on going. We must do what we are here to do, regardless of what it takes. We do so through the power of Love.
All in all, quite a fable for our times. We really enjoyed the movie and I would recommend seeing it. It’s an enjoyable couple of hours and you’ll feel quite inspired when you leave the theater.