The Age of Adaline

The Age of Adaline
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Lee Toland Krieger
Screenplay by	J. Mills Goodloe[a] Salvador Paskowitz
Story by	J. Mills Goodloe Salvador Paskowitz
Produced by	Sidney Kimmel Gary Lucchesi Tom Rosenberg
Starring	Blake Lively Michiel Huisman Harrison Ford Ellen Burstyn
Cinematography	David Lanzenberg
Edited by	Melissa Kent
Music by	Rob Simonsen
Production companies	Sidney Kimmel Entertainment Lakeshore Entertainment
Distributed by	Lionsgate
Release date	April 24, 2015 (2015-04-24) (United States)
Running time	113 minutes[2]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$25 million[3]
Box office	$65.7 million[4]

The Age of Adaline is a 2015 American romantic fantasy film directed by Lee Toland Krieger and written by J. Mills Goodloe and Salvador Paskowitz. The film stars Blake Lively as Adaline, with Michiel Huisman, Harrison Ford, Kathy Baker, Amanda Crew, and Ellen Burstyn. Narrated by Hugh Ross, the story follows Adaline Bowman, a young woman who stops aging following an accident at the age of twenty-nine.

The film was produced by Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Lakeshore Entertainment. Principal photography took place in Vancouver from March 5 to May 5, 2014. It premiered in New York City on April 19, 2015, and was cinematically released on April 24 in the United States by Lionsgate. It received mixed reviews from critics, though many praised both Lively's and Ford's performances, citing them as some of their best work in recent years. A modest box-office success, it grossed $65.7 million worldwide on a $25 million budget. The film received two nominations at the 42nd Saturn Awards, one for Best Fantasy Film and one for Lively for Best Actress.

Plot

Adaline Marie Bowman was born on New Year's Day, 1908, in San Francisco at 12:01 a.m. to Faye and Milton Bowman. In 1929, when she was twenty-one, Adaline married engineer Clarence James Prescott. Three years later, in 1932, they had a daughter named Flemming. Five years later, in 1937, Clarence as well as nine others were killed during the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. Ten months after his death, Adaline crashed her car into a ravine while driving to her parents' beach cottage and died in a freezing lake in Sonoma County, but a lightning strike that struck her car revived her. From then on, Adaline stopped aging.

Sixteen years pass, and in 1953, after a traffic violation, a police officer confiscates her ID and thinks it must be fake, as she is now forty-five but still appears twenty-nine. That night, two FBI agents attempt to abduct her for study. She realizes she must spend the rest of her life on the run, changing her identity every decade. She bids a tearful goodbye to now-adult Flemming, who continues to get older than her mother.

Six decades later, in 2015, under the alias "Jennifer Larson," Adaline falls in love with philanthropist Ellis Jones. She knows she cannot afford to have a proper relationship but cannot resist him. Finally, she goes to his parents' 40th wedding anniversary party. His father, William, recognizes her instantly, but she claims Adaline was her mother, who died six years earlier. Adaline recalls that she had been in love with William once, and he had wanted to marry her. William is shaken when he notices a scar on Adaline's hand, from a cut she sustained while she and he were hiking decades before. He confronts her, and she admits the truth. He begs her to stay for Ellis's sake, but Adaline instead writes Ellis a note and leaves. Finding the letter, Ellis confronts his father, who refuses to explain.

Driving home, Adaline calls Flemming (now old enough to be her grandmother), to say she is tired of running. A flatbed truck plows into her car, pushing it into a ravine. Thrown from the car, Adaline's heart stops due to hypothermia. An ambulance crew revives her with a defibrillator and she wakes up in the hospital with Ellis at her bedside. They profess their love, and Adaline tells him her 107 years of life and fear of being discovered.

A year later, Ellis and Adaline are leaving for a New Year's Eve party when, in the hallway mirror, she notices a grey hair. When Ellis asks if she is okay, she replies she's "perfect." A voiceover explains that the jolt from the defibrillator restarted her aging process. Adaline smiles, realizing that she is now able to grow old with Ellis.

Cast

• Blake Lively as Adaline Marie Bowman
• Michiel Huisman as Ellis Jones
• Harrison Ford as William Jones
  • Anthony Ingruber as young William Jones
• Lynda Boyd as Reagan
• Ellen Burstyn as Flemming Prescott
  • Cate Richardson as young Flemming (age 20)
  • Izabel Pearce as child Flemming (age 5)
• Kathy Baker as Kathy Jones
• Amanda Crew as Kikki Jones
• Hugh Ross as Narrator

Production

On May 12, 2010, it was announced that The Age of Adaline would be co-financed and co-produced by Lakeshore Entertainment and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment. Salvador Paskowitz and J. Mills Goodloe wrote the script.^[5] Sierra / Affinity has the international rights, while producers were Steve Golin, Alix Madigan, Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi.^[5] On July 20, 2010, it was reported that Andy Tennant was set to direct the film.^[6] On October 31, 2010, Summit Entertainment bought the US distribution rights to the film, which was set to begin shooting in March 2011 for an early 2012 release.^[7]

On February 22, 2011, it was reported that Gabriele Muccino was in talks to direct the film, replacing Tennant, with the film re-titled from The Age of Adaline to simply Adaline.^[8] On May 14, 2012, it was announced that Spanish director Isabel Coixet would direct the film instead.^[9] On October 16, 2013, Lee Toland Krieger was reported to be the actual director of the film.^[10] Producer Dan Cohen had shown him the script at a general meeting in 2009.^[11]

Casting

On May 12, 2010, Katherine Heigl was cast as the title character.^[5] On November 12, 2010, Angela Lansbury was added to the cast as Flemming.^[12] On November 15, Heigl withdrew. There were rumors she had been fired by Lakeshore, which both Lakeshore and Heigl denied.^[13] She later announced that her withdrawal was a result of her recent adoption of a daughter.^[13] On August 15, 2011, TheWrap reported that Natalie Portman had been offered the lead role.^[14] On August 25, Portman told Entertainment Weekly she had declined the offer.^[15]

On October 16, 2013, Blake Lively and Ellen Burstyn were cast^[10] On January 15, 2014, Harrison Ford joined the cast, and the film was set to begin shooting in March.^[16] On February 11, 2014, Michiel Huisman joined the cast.^[17]

Costumes

Oscar winner Angus Strathie designed the costumes for the film. The costume designer talked about the importance of the outfits worn by Lively's character Adaline as integral parts of her story, which takes place through several fashion eras.^[18][19]

Filming

Filming began on March 10, 2014, in Vancouver and continued through May 5.^[16][20] On March 11, 2014, filming at the Hotel Vancouver commenced.^[21] Anamorphic lenses and minimal use of steadicams were employed to provide greater authenticity for scenes set in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. The films Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire served as inspiration for the period color tone and saturation.^[22]

Music

While Rob Simonsen scored the film, Lana Del Rey contributed a song titled "Life Is Beautiful", which is featured in the film's trailer but not included in the soundtrack.

Release

On August 15, 2014, Lionsgate set the film for a worldwide release on January 23, 2015.^[23] Later, the date was moved to April 24, 2015.^[24] The film was released on DVD on September 8, 2015.

Marketing

The promotional campaign was aimed primarily at fashion-conscious women. Danielle DePalma, executive vice president of digital marketing at Lionsgate, said, "We were very aware of Blake’s high-fashion profile when we crafted the campaign, and there was so much beautiful imagery from the film." They created vignettes for MTV and VH1 and a fashion segment for E! News showing viewers how to achieve the same looks as Lively. They created a custom "Fashion Journey Through the Decades" initiative, through which a fashion influencer from YouTube or Maker Studios created a unique look inspired by the film. Video ads were also released on Instagram and tutorials on Pinterest. Advance screenings for fashion and lifestyle influencers took place in partnership with Gilt City. The application Periscope was used to spread information about the film.^[25]

Reception

Box office

The Age of Adaline earned $42,629,776 in North America and $23,033,500 in other countries, for a worldwide box office gross of $65.7 million.^[26] The film opened with $575,000 during Thursday late-night showings at 2,100 U.S. theaters.^[27] It finished the weekend at number three behind Furious 7 and Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 with $13.4 million from 2,991 locations.^[28]

Critical response

The Age of Adaline received mixed reviews from critics, although the performances of Blake Lively and Harrison Ford received very positive reviews and were cited as some of their best work in recent years.^[29] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 55% of 173 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "The Age of Adaline ruminates on mortality less compellingly than similarly themed films, but is set apart by memorable performances from Blake Lively and Harrison Ford."^[30] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 51 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.^[31] In CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend, cinema audiences gave The Age of Adaline an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.^[32]

Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film three out of four stars, expressing surprise at the film's increase in quality midway through: "I've never seen a less involving movie become so compelling at the exact moment when you've resigned to write it off as just okay." He also gave high praise to Harrison Ford's dramatic performance, writing that "Ford's voice—always deep, lowered an octave by age and one more by William's longing—is even more powerful [than the devastating look on his face]. This is Ford's best performance since The Fugitive, maybe since Witness".^[33]

Accolades

Award	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref(s)
Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie: Drama		Nominated	[34]
	Choice Movie Actress: Drama	Blake Lively	Nominated
	Choice Movie: Liplock	Blake Lively and Michiel Huisman	Nominated
The Joey Awards	Young Actress in a Television	Izabel Pearce	Nominated
People's Choice Awards	Favorite Dramatic Movie		Nominated	[35][36]
	Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress	Blake Lively	Nominated
Saturn Awards	Best Fantasy Film		Nominated	[37]
	Best Actress	Blake Lively	Nominated

Notes

1. Goodloe is credited for the screenplay twice; first as a team with Paskowitz, and again by himself. The two are credited for the story as a team.^[1]

References

1. "The Age of Adaline". Writers Guild of America West. October 14, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
2. "THE AGE OF ADALINE (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
3. "Michiel Huisman". imdb.com.
4. "The Age of Adaline (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
5. Kit, Borys (May 12, 2010). "Katherine Heigl to star in 'Age of Adaline'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
6. Kilday, Gregg (July 20, 2010). "'Bounty Hunter' director tapped for 'Adaline'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
7. DiOrio, Carl (October 31, 2010). "Summit Nabs Rights to Katherine Heigl Film 'Adaline'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 13, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
8. Anderton, Ethan (February 22, 2011). "Gabriele Muccino in Talks to Direct Supernatural Romance 'Adaline'". firstshowing.net. Archived from the original on August 13, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
9. Kit, Borys (May 14, 2012). "'Elegy' Director Boards Fantasy Romance 'Age of Adaline'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
10. Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 16, 2013). "Blake Lively, Ellen Burstyn Set To Star In 'The Age Of Adaline'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
11. Solomon, Dan (April 24, 2015). "The Director Of "The Age of Adaline" On Bringing A Dream Project To Life". Fast Company. Archived from the original on April 28, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
12. Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 12, 2010). "Angela Lansbury To Play Katherine Heigl's Daughter In 'Adaline'". Deadline. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
13. Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 15, 2010). "Katherine Heigl Out Of 'Adaline'". Deadline. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
14. Weinstein, Joshua L. (August 15, 2011). "Natalie Portman Offered Lead Role in Indie Drama 'Adaline'". TheWrap. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
15. Markovitz, Adam (August 25, 2011). "Natalie Portman turns down 'Adaline' role". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
16. Sneider, Jeff (January 15, 2014). "Harrison Ford Joins Blake Lively, Ellen Burstyn in Drama 'Age of Adaline'". TheWrap. Archived from the original on July 11, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
17. "Michiel Huisman To Co-Star Opposite Blake Lively In 'Age Of Adaline'". Deadline Hollywood. February 11, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
18. Terrero, Nina (May 13, 2016). "Blake Lively's Age of Adaline style: Timeless fashion for a character who's forever 29". Entertainment Weekly.
19. "Blake Lively. Best Looks from "The Age of Adeline"". May 30, 2019.
20. "START DATE: AGE OF ADALINE with Blake Lively as Immortal Woman Expected to Start Filming March 10th". yvrshoots.com. February 11, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
21. "'Age of Adaline', starring Blake Lively, begins filming in Vancouver". onlocationvacations.com. March 11, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
22. "The Age of Adaline – Movie production notes". CinemaReview.com. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
23. "Lionsgate Dates 'L'age de Adaline'". Deadline Hollywood. August 15, 2014. Archived from the original on October 8, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
24. Lang, Brent (September 24, 2014). "Johnny Depp Comedy 'Mortdecai' Shifts to January 2015 Release Date". Variety. Archived from the original on August 13, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
25. Cunningham, Todd (April 28, 2015). "How Blake Lively's Iconic Fashion Gave 'Age of Adaline' a Big Boost". The Wrap. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
26. "The Age of Adaline (2015)". Box Office Mojo.
27. McNary, Dave (April 24, 2015). "Box Office: 'Age of Adaline' Launches with $575,000 in Latenight Shows". Variety. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
28. Lang, Brent (April 26, 2015). "Box Office: 'Furious 7′ Races Past 'Age of Adaline'". Variety. Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
29. Hoffman, Jordan (April 22, 2015). "The Age of Adaline review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 7, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
30. "The Age of Adaline". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
31. "The Age of Adaline". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
32. Cunningham, Todd (April 25, 2015). "'Age of Adaline' Overhauls 'Furious 7' at Friday Box Office". TheWrap. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
33. Seitz, Matt Zoller (April 24, 2015). "The Age of Adaline Movie Review (2015)". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
34. "WINNERS OF TEEN CHOICE 2015 ANNOUNCED". Teen Choice Awards. FOX. August 16, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
35. "2016 Winners and highlights". CBS News. January 6, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
36. "List: Who won People's Choice Awards?". USA Today. January 6, 2016. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
37. "The 42nd Annual Saturn Awards nominations are announced for 2016!". Saturn Awards. February 24, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2016.

External links

• The Age of Adaline at IMDb
• The Age of Adaline at Box Office Mojo
• The Age of Adaline at Metacritic
• The Age of Adaline at Rotten Tomatoes