A Wrinkle in Time Pushes Positive Message With Diverse Cast

The magical and colorful movie, A Wrinkle in Time takes science fiction to a fantasy world full of mystery and wonder. The positive movie pushing a “believe in yourself” theme, stars Oprah Winfrey (OWN), Reese Witherspoon (Big Little Lies) and Mindy kaling (The Mindy Project) with teen actress Storm Reid (12 Years a Slave) as the lead character Meg. I sat in a theater full of people of all races and and backgrounds. The Disney produced film accomplished its goal of the diverse audience and a movie all could enjoy.

Overall director Ava DuVerney (Selma) did a great job with the film. It was obvious she had a great team of actors, costume designers and a super power technical team - a benefit of working on a Disney film. 

The storyline had a great message of believing in yourself and accomplishing the impossible. It was weaved throughout the movie. It’s very positive for a young child, teen and people of all ages. In spite of its great message Wrinkle had a slow storyline and struggled to keep the attention of the audience. I found myself peering at my fellow movie patrons during this experience and they seemed bored, uninterested and very, very quiet with little facial expressions. 

The first 30 minutes of Wrinkle was slightly boring. It took a long time to get to any sort of action. The hard hitting science and math, while great for those who code but can lose the interest of those seeking great colorful cinema. I found myself focused more on my popcorn at certain parts in the beginning of the film. I won’t spoil the movie but there’s a lot of math boards and NASA lectures to explain the backstory there, but it seemed slightly confusing. These same elements were in the movie Hidden Figures, except the filmmakers of that film assumed you knew nothing, making the storyline easier to understand. 

In a world of STEM education growth, modern day movie makers need to remember that its audience come for entertainment. If your goal is to spark an interest in science and math, you can’t leave out the excitement, otherwise you risk losing the audience too early and some are hard to get back. While engineering and technology and math-based professions are growing, only a low percentage of United States workforce are in engineering and related fields. It’s easy to alienate the majority of the audience while catering to a smaller group. 

The action does finally come into play as the main characters enter the real world as escorts into a fantasy world in time on a life saving mission. There are some scenes that get a little confusing making the viewer feel like a rewind button is necessary to understand the movie without reading the novel for which the movie was based. 

Winfrey gave an amazing performance as the wise mother figure, Mrs. Which. Witherspoon also bought a lot of her role as Mrs. Whatsit and showed her ability to play a character much different than her roles in movies like Sweet Home Alabama and Walk the Line. Kaling, stayed humble with her role of being the third leader Mrs. Who, a character obsessed with quoting other people. 

While the female leads carried the storyline. Male actors Chris Pine (Wonder Woman) as Mr. Murry and Levi Miller (Pan) as Calvin, did an excellent job in the film playing father and friend. 

A Wrinkle in Time’s official soundtrack produced by Walt Disney Records includes upbeat and calm soothing inspirational music enjoyable for all ages. Each songs brings a combination of creative artistry and music worthy of downloading and radio play.

Among the most notable and beloved songs on the film soundtrack is DJ Khaled and Demi Lovato’s upbeat song, I Believe.In today’s era of bullying and pressure placed on teens, this song is fitting for the soundtrack and a good download for kids and parents. Singing group Chloe x Hale deliver in Warrior, another song from the soundtrack that stays with the theme of standing up and fighting for your dreams. Singers Sia, Sade and Alessia Cara are also featured artists on the soundtrack. 

The soundtrack is an added bonus to the film. The energy of the music makes up for the flaws of the film and drive home the intended positive messages. 

A Wrinkle in Time is slow out of the gate, but the movie is worthy of discussions and viewing by families, friends, parents and children.