The Age of Adaline

Plot

One afternoon in San Francisco, Adaline Bowman purchases fake IDs at an apartment before returning home to feed her dog. She then goes to work and opens a box of film reels, including one that explains her life. She was born on New Years Day 1908, then later married and gave birth to a daughter, only to become a widow after her husband died in a tragic accident. Years later, in 1937, Adaline crashed her car when she swerved into a ravine during a snowstorm and died in the freezing lake nearby, but a lightning strike suddenly revived her. From that moment, Adaline has stayed physically 29 years old.

Ever since, she has changed her identification and address according to the era, while her daughter Flemming ages normally, appearing older than Adaline. One night, two suspicious FBI agents attempt to force her onto an airplane for study, but she escapes captivity and realizes that she will have to spend the rest of her life on the run.

On New Year's Eve in the present year, she attends a party where she meets Ellis Jones, introducing herself as her current alias, Jennifer. He asks to see her again but she refuses, knowing she can never fall in love because she can never have a normal future with someone. The next day at work, Ellis arrives and again asks Adaline to go on a date with him. Finally she accepts, and after a second date they spend the night together.

In a flashback, Adaline is shown pulling up in a cab to a park where a man is waiting, holding an engagement ring. Scared, she asks the cab driver to keep going. Back in the present day, Adaline's dog falls ill and she begins to ignore Ellis' calls. He shows up at her apartment but she pushes him away, only to have a change of heart while looking through some old photographs and realizing she doesn't want to live the same year a hundred times without having a natural life.

They later resolve their argument and Ellis asks Adaline to attend the party at his parents' house celebrating his parents' fortieth anniversary, and she says yes. Upon their arrival, Ellis introduces her to his father, William, who recognizes her instantly and calls her Adaline. She appears to recognize him, too, but lies, telling him that Adaline was her mother, who has since died. A flashback shows how they met and came to be in love, soon revealing that he was the man with the engagement ring she stood up that afternoon. One night, Ellis tells Adaline he is falling in love with her and she is unsure of how to react.

The following day, Adaline talks with William outside and he notices a scar on her left hand, and becomes shaken. Another flashback reveals that Adaline cut her hand while they were hiking decades ago and he had stitched it up himself. He realizes that she is truly Adaline and confronts her. She becomes upset, claiming she used to be "normal" and doesn't know what changed her. He begs her not to run, for Ellis' sake, but she says she doesn't know how to stay. She flees and returns to the house, writing a note to Ellis while he showers, then she packs her things and leaves. Moments later, Ellis finds the letter and confronts his father, who refuses to explain.

While driving home, Adaline thinks of all the times she has run and suddenly has a change of heart about the way she lives her life. She stops and calls her daughter to tell her she is going to stop running. As she turns the car around, a tow truck plows into her in a hit-and-run accident, leaving her to die. Freezing and helpless, Adaline dies again. An ambulance arrives and she is revived by the electricity of the defibrillator. Later in the hospital, she wakes up to Ellis, and the two profess their love for one another. Adaline then tells him of her 107 years of life.

One year later, Ellis and Adaline are going to a New Year's Eve party. As she is leaving, she notices something strange in the hallway mirror: her first grey hair, proving she has begun to age naturally again. When Ellis asks if she is okay, she responds: "Yes... Perfect."

Cast

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. Sierra / Affinity has the international rights, while producers were Steve Golin, Alix Madigan, Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi. On July 20, 2010 it was reported that Andy Tennant was set to direct the film. 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.

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. On May 14, 2012, it was announced that Spanish director Isabel Coixet would direct the film instead. On October 16, 2013, Lee Toland Krieger was reported to be the actual director of the film. Producer Dan Cohen had shown him the script at a general meeting in 2009.

Casting

On May 12, 2010, Katherine Heigl was cast as the title character. On November 12, 2010, Angela Lansbury was added to the cast of the film, set to play the daughter of the ageless Adaline. On November 15, Heigl withdrew from Adaline's cast, and there were rumors that she had been fired by Lakeshore, which both Lakeshore and Heigl denied. She later announced that her withdrawal was a result of her recent adoption of a daughter. On August 15, 2011, TheWrap reported that Natalie Portman had been offered the lead role. On August 25, Portman told Entertainment Weekly that she had declined the offer.

On October 16, 2013, Blake Lively and Ellen Burstyn were cast in the film to play the lead roles, with Lively starring as the title character. On January 15, 2014 Harrison Ford joined the cast, and the film was set to begin shooting in March of that year. On February 11, 2014 Michiel Huisman joined the cast to star opposite Lively as Adaline's love interest.

Filming

Filming began on March 10, 2014 in Vancouver and continued through May 5. On March 11, 2014 filming at the Hotel Vancouver commenced. 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.

Music

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

Release

On August 15, 2014, Lionsgate set the film for a January 23, 2015 worldwide release. Later, the date was shifted to April 24, 2015. 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.

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. The film opened with $575,000 during Thursday late-night showings at 2,100 U.S. theaters. It finished the weekend at number three behind Furious 7 and Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 with $13.4 million from 2,991 locations.

Critical response

The Age of Adaline has 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. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 55%, based on 137 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The site'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." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 51 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". 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.