A BRIEF MYSTERY OF TIME

Fantastical tale of teen’s search for missing astro-physicist dad relies too heavily on CGI and its talented star to mask shortcomings

WITH its messages of self-belief and individuality, A Wrinkle In Time is certainly not A Waste Of Time for the target audience of peer-pressured teenagers, force-fed an airbrushed version of “reality” on social media.

Nor is director Ava DuVernay’s picture the emotionally rich call to arms that it earnestly strives to be, hamstrung by plot holes, inconsistent characterisation and a reliance on digital effects. Fantastical realms crammed with otherworldly flora and fauna, reminiscent of James Cameron’s blockbuster Avatar, provide an eye-popping backdrop to a 13-year-old girl’s coming of age during a time-travelling quest.

The jewel in the film’s wonky tiara is 14-year-old lead actress Storm Reid who captures the vulnerability of her heroine.

Gifted student Meg (Reid) has shunned friendship since the disappearance of her father Alex (Chris Pine) four years ago during his experiments into space travel. Meg’s mother Kate (Gugu MbathaRaw) holds the family together and cares for her daughter and precocious adopted son, Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe). The siblings encounter Meg’s classmate Calvin O’Keefe (Levi Miller) followed by three astral seers named Mrs Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), Mrs Who (Mindy Kaling) and Mrs Which (Oprah Winfrey).

This extravagantly attired chorus reveals Meg’s father is alive in another dimension and they need the children’s help to locate Alex before an evil named The It pollutes the universe with negativity.

Leaping between magical kingdoms, Meg, Charles Wallace, Calvin and their guides encounter a quixotic soothsayer (Zach Galifianakis) and a diabolical henchman (Michael Pena) who preys on the children’s fears.

Based on Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 novel, A Wrinkle In Time is less than the sum of its parts. Reid’s performance demands we care about Meg, Winfrey glides through every frame, replete with rhinestone eyebrows, while Witherspoon opines “They’re human, they’re very limited”.

So is DuVernay’s picture.

From top: Reese Witherspoon and (below) Oprah Winfrey help guide Levi Miller as Calvin O’Keefe, Deric McCabe as Charles Wallace Murry and Storm Reid as Meg Murry