The Time Traveler's Wife

Name: The Time Traveler's Wife
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Fantasy, Romance
Released: August 14, 2009
Duration: 107 min
Rating: 47
Cast: Eric Bana, Rachel McAdams, Ron Livingston

2009

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 161 Ratings

See All

7.9

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

7.9	Your Score
7.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 161 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

The Time Traveler's Wife

Now Playing: The Time Traveler's Wife

Movie Details & Credits

New Line Cinema | Release Date: August 14, 2009 | PG-13

Starring: Eric Bana, Rachel McAdams, Ron Livingston

Summary: Clare has been in love with Henry her entire life. She believes they are destined to be together, even though she never knows when they will be separated: Henry is a time traveler--cursed with a rare genetic anomaly that causes him to live his life on a shifting timeline, skipping back and forth through the years with no control. DespiteClare has been in love with Henry her entire life. She believes they are destined to be together, even though she never knows when they will be separated: Henry is a time traveler--cursed with a rare genetic anomaly that causes him to live his life on a shifting timeline, skipping back and forth through the years with no control. Despite the fact that Henry's travels force them apart with no warning, and never knowing when they will be reunited, Clare desperately tries to build a life with her one true love. (Warner Bros.)… Expand

Director: Robert Schwentke

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Fantasy, Romance

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 107 min

See All Details and Credits

Watch Now

Stream On

Buy on

Stream On

Expand

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

David Edelstein

Gracefully directed by Robert Schwentke, the film has a perfect performance by Bana, rangy and haunted, never at home in his body. Read full review

Mick LaSalle

It would really help to get into the right frame of mind before seeing The Time Traveler's Wife, because viewed from some angles - maybe most angles - the movie is ridiculous. Read full review

Owen Gleiberman

Bana and McAdams are sweet together, with matching dimples and starry eyes, and we grow eager to see them remain in the same place. In the end, that's all there is to the movie, really. It's a time-travel fantasy in search of a cozy love seat. Read full review

Kimberley Jones

“Caution: Contents may induce brain bleed.” That is, if you think too hard on the logic and mechanics of its time-travel conceit. Read full review

Rick Groen

The Time Traveler's Wife slips the romance cards into a stacked deck – read 'em if you will, but no need to weep. Read full review

J.R. Jones

Screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin won an Oscar for "Ghost" (1990), a pleasant, moderately thoughtful weepie that this movie closely resembles. Read full review

Peter Rainer

They miss by a mile – or should I say, a light-year. Read full review

SEE ALL 31 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

Ssmith

Feb 3, 2010

I loved this movie; the beautiful direction, the acting, the story.

2 of 4 users found this helpful

CastorT.

Aug 16, 2009

Boasting terrific performances and chemistry from Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana, the Time Traveler's Wife has some flaws but is a charming, endearing and bittersweet romantic drama nonetheless.

1 of 1 users found this helpful

MikeD.

Aug 15, 2009

Reviewers who focus on the time travel totally miss the point of the movie. Its about the struggles of a woman when the man she loves can't give himself to her completely, but, she realizes, what he can give is enough. Amy McAdam plays that role very well. From the male side, it is Reviewers who focus on the time travel totally miss the point of the movie. Its about the struggles of a woman when the man she loves can't give himself to her completely, but, she realizes, what he can give is enough. Amy McAdam plays that role very well. From the male side, it is about not wanting to be able to be there for the ones you love, and that part is told poignantly as well. At the end, it is moving and effective if you can just accept the time travel as a dramatic device and not try to analyze it.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful

vinipushka010

Aug 22, 2009

True, it's probably a movie you'd take your girfriend/s to, but it's a bit more than just that. You may find you walk away happy you gave it a chance.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

bassthing

Mar 23, 2011

Considering I rented this film more for my wife than for myself, ironically it was I that enjoyed this film more. My wife had a relatively fair criticism that this film is a little trite. However I would add that it has a certain charm because of this, and it is trite at the beginning of theConsidering I rented this film more for my wife than for myself, ironically it was I that enjoyed this film more. My wife had a relatively fair criticism that this film is a little trite. However I would add that it has a certain charm because of this, and it is trite at the beginning of the film, and much less so by the end. Personally the first reason I enjoyed this film was that the two main characters actually do have a believable chemistry. Too often I have watched (Hollywood) films in which the lead couple have absolutory zero believability as a couple. Secondly, this film definitely throws you into the story straight away, hooking me with the central premise of a boy (and then a man) time travelling who cannot control what happens to him.

Third. I have now actually seen a film in which I liked Eric Bana. To be honest I thought he was a bit crappy until this, but he plays the role well, especially with the potential of some of the material to be somewhat paedophilic (let your mind boggle, and I hope that isnâ… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

ChadS.

Aug 17, 2009

Lucky for young Claire, the naked man in the bushes turns out to be her one and only, and not some child rapist, like the girl's killer in Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones". The interaction between Henry(Eric Bana) and Claire's pre-pubescent self is the film's litmus Lucky for young Claire, the naked man in the bushes turns out to be her one and only, and not some child rapist, like the girl's killer in Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones". The interaction between Henry(Eric Bana) and Claire's pre-pubescent self is the film's litmus test. If moviegoers aren't silently humming George Michael's "Father Figure" to themselves while the time traveler chats up the little girl, "The Time Traveler's Wife" just dodged the first bullet. (The second bullet is if Henry's wormholes seem plausible to a quantum physicist.) Bana's scenes with his future wife as a child are crucial to keeping intact the film's central theme of unconditional love. (It's a good thing Claire didn't see Jesus, or else she would have winded up a nun.) Not for one second can Henry appear to be hitting on her. Claire's future husband has to treat his pre-wife like he was looking at an old photograph in a keepsake album. To quote filmmaker Wim Wenders(and Bono), Henry has to be "faraway, so close". When he shakes Claire's hand in that meadow, it's analogous to a husband stroking some picture's surface that embodies the woman he married under a sheath of plastic. Bana has to convey that Claire's unformed state touches his heart, not his genitals. (***HEY, SPOILER ALERT***) Due to tragic circumstances, late in the film, Henry suddenly seems cruel, keeping Claire(played by the lovely Rachel McAdams) in limbo. Had Henry returned to the meadow and traumatized young Claire by jumping out of the bushes, his wife wouldn't be perpetually haunted by a "Librarian of Desire". At least the Demi Moore character in Jerry Zucker's "Ghost" found closure. But they had a kid. End of story. They're a chained melody.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

JohnE.

Aug 23, 2009

I enjoy good movies weather they are chick flicks or horror films. Since this was based upon a book I came in with high hopes, but sadly enough this film made absolutely no sense at all. It was purposefully manipulative to your emotions, and had nothing to really bight your teeth into. This I enjoy good movies weather they are chick flicks or horror films. Since this was based upon a book I came in with high hopes, but sadly enough this film made absolutely no sense at all. It was purposefully manipulative to your emotions, and had nothing to really bight your teeth into. This film made me very angry, why would anyone make this movie it sucks. In the sea of good romantic movies out there this one is a rock at the bottom of the Marianas trench.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful

SEE ALL 36 REVIEWS