As movies go, THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE ($36) may be best described as a romantic fable in the guise of a science fiction film. I have to admit the science fiction elements to the story really don’t carry much water, and really only serve as a convoluted romantic obstacle for the central characters’ love to overcome. Hence, it is the love story that works best in THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE, and not the ill-conceived science of the film’s fiction. Fortunately, the film’s leading players make the romantic aspects of the film work exceedingly well, allowing one to enjoy the characters, and not dwell on some of the more gaping holes in story’s logic.

Based upon the novel by Audrey Niffenegger, THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE tells the story of Chicago librarian Henry DeTamble (Eric Bana), who suffers from a rare genetic disorder that causes him to randomly travel through time. Henry first becomes aware of his condition during childhood, when his inadvertent time travel allows him to escape a fatal automobile accident that claims the life of his mother. When Henry grows up, he meets Clare Abshire (Rachel McAdams), whom it turns out knows him quite well, via the time traveling of his older incarnations. Despite inevitable separations, Henry and Clare begin a relationship and ultimately marry. Of course, Henry and Clare face even more difficulty as their separations increase, not to mention when the couple attempts to have a child, as the unborn children inherit their father’s genetic disorder… and thus, time travel out of their mother’s body before they are able to survive on their own. The cast of THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE also features Ron Livingston, Jane McLean, Stephen Tobolowsky, Arliss Howard, Brooklynn Proulx, Alex Ferris, Hailey McCann, Tatum McCann, Michelle Nolden, Maggie Castle, Fiona Reid, Philip Craig and Brian Bisson.

New Line Home Entertainment has made THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE available on Blu-ray Disc in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio presentation that has been encoded onto the disc with the VC-1 codec. THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE arrives in fine form with a very nice looking 1080p presentation that is certain to please almost all viewers. Levels of image sharpness, depth, fine detail and texturing are all really quite good. Colors are pretty vibrant, without appearing over-saturated. Flesh tones are always appealing. Blacks are inky, whites are crisp and contrast is smooth. Shadow detail isn’t exemplary, but I attribute it to the way the dark sequences were shot, not to mention the disc’s single layer authoring. The elements from which THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE has been transferred appear virtually perfect. There is a mild veneer of grain throughout the course of the presentation, which helps maintain a very film-like quality.

THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE is presented on Blu-ray Disc with a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Since THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE is primarily a talky drama, the sound design tends localize the sonic information to the forward hemisphere. This isn’t to say that the outlying channels don’t see any activity, because they do, as there are a few moments that are intensely more directional, than the larger body of the film. These key moments are well punctuated and provide the full dramatic weight of their sonic augmentation. However, the majority of the time, sound effects tend to be of a more environmental nature, which bring to life the world the characters inhabit. The lossless encode enhances the fidelity of Mychael Danna’s musical score, which has been given a nice spread throughout the soundstage. As for the bass channel, it has little to do other than adding a bit of weight to the sound effects. No other language tracks have been included on the disc, but French and Spanish subtitles are provided.

The interactive menus allow one access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as the following programs: An Unconventional Love Story (twenty six minutes) and The Time Traveler's Wife: Love Beyond Words (twenty one minutes). A Digital Copy of the film is also provided.

While the science of the film’s fiction really doesn’t carry water, the romantic aspects of the story make THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE a good "date night" film. The Blu-ray presentation is quite pleasing, thus making high definition the best way to experience THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE at home.

 

The Time Traveler's Wife [Blu-ray] (2009)