The Age of Adaline is a picture of eternal romance, which revives Blake Lively to immortality. The movie is the star’s ticket to an unforgettable part in a motion picture that will free her from her role as Serena in the teenage TV Series Gossip Girl. Not that the show did not bring her millions of admirers (it definitely did), but Adaline gives her the opportunity to appeal to a wider audience, the theme of the movie being more offering and more provocative.
Director Lee Toland Krieger recommends her for the part of Adaline in very heartfelt and protective words, according to a USA Today article. On one hand he describes her as being the perfect figure “She sort of embodies a woman who is perfect physically, so in that regard, she’s a perfect fit”, whereas on the other hand he sees her as a great spirit: “Also, for someone who is 27 years old, she’s wildly sophisticated and seems like an old soul”. These main characteristics might seem on some level contradictory, but they are, in fact, the perfect recipe for the lead in a movie like The Age of Adaline, which follows the trajectory of a woman and her inner development, yet who remains untouched by the passing of time.
The story-line follows the life of Adaline, born on January first, 1908 – quite a symbolic birth date, as it overlaps with the beginning of a fresh year, a new life circle. Her route is a common one (her major point in life being the birth of her own daughter)… until a solitary drive on a ‘’cold winter night’’ changes her entire existence. She is driven into a river, and the descent into its deep dark waters is followed by the glow of a mystical light and she is seen rising from the water. If the Phoenix bird is reborn from its own ashes, Adaline is given eternal life by the magical water.
The casting of Harrison Ford in The Age of Adaline is a pleasant surprise, which gives the picture a tint of good old-time acting. Indiana Jones (or Han Solo) is associated with the father figure, who along with Kathy Baker forms the family of ‘’a charismatic philanthropist’’ played by Michiel Huisman. The Age of Adaline seems to be full of ‘’young surprises’’, as actor Anthony Ingruber is chosen for the part of Young William.
According to director Lee Toland Krieger, The Age of Adaline is a life lesson about the transience of human existence and emphasizes the major role of love in gaining immortality of spirit: “In a world consumed with youth and vanity, there’s something very fresh and beautiful about a story focusing on the beauty of growing old’’ (…) I’d like to think you walk away from this thinking love conquers all, even immortality”.