Slaughterhouse Five for Girls

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Robert Schwentke's The Time Traveller's Wife, costaring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams, comes out from New Line/Warner on 8.14. The trailer has an affable, settled and vaguely eerie atmosphere. It also radiates dreaded chick-flick vibes. Here, for simplicity's sake, is a Publisher's Weekly summary of Audrey Niffenegger's 2004 book.

"This clever and inventive tale works on three levels: as an intriguing science fiction concept, a realistic character study and a touching love story. Henry De Tamble (Bana) is a Chicago librarian with 'Chrono Displacement' disorder; at random times, he suddenly disappears without warning and finds himself in the past or future, usually at a time or place of importance in his life. This leads to some wonderful paradoxes.

"From his point of view, he first met his wife, Clare (McAdams), when he was 28 and she was 20. She ran up to him exclaiming that she'd known him all her life. He, however, had never seen her before. But when he reaches his 40s, already married to Clare, he suddenly finds himself time travelling to Clare's childhood and meeting her as a 6-year-old.

"The book alternates between Henry and Clare's points of view, and so does the narration. [It] expresses the longing of the one always left behind, the frustrations of their unusual lifestyle, and above all, her overriding love for Henry. Likewise, [it] evokes the fear of a man who never knows where or when he'll turn up, and his gratitude at having Clare, whose love is his anchor."

The German-born Schwentke is best known for having directed Flightplan, the Jodie Foster thriller.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 13, 2009 at 3:53 AM

comment #1

The Hoyk says ...

I met Schwentke at the L.A. preem of his thriller TATTOO, a nice little gory spin on the classic krimi, the German equivalent of a pulpy crime mystery. He was a pleasant, unassuming fellow and I'm happy he's advancing to bigger things.

Posted by The Hoyk at June 13, 2009 4:54 AM

comment #2

Ray says ...

Um, yeah ... chick flick all the way.

Lemme guess: the scene with the little girl holding his hand while he disappears happens at the very end of the film, causing everyone to cry.

Just a guess.

Posted by Ray at June 13, 2009 5:03 AM

comment #3

raygo says ...

I wish Rachel McAdams got half the roles offered to Scarlett Johansson ... then we could see her about every three months. Could we start with Iron Man 2?

Posted by raygo at June 13, 2009 5:08 AM

comment #4

btwnproductions says ...

FLIGHTPLAN...terrible.

Posted by btwnproductions at June 13, 2009 5:51 AM

comment #5

Chase Kahn says ...

They've taken the chick-flick throttle and thrusted it up to 10.

Posted by Chase Kahn at June 13, 2009 6:35 AM

comment #6

Chase Kahn says ...

So did the "Shutter Island" trailer get by you, Jeff?

Posted by Chase Kahn at June 13, 2009 6:51 AM

comment #7

Jeffrey Wells says ...

Whaddaya mean? I posted it, posted a reaction -- i.e., Angel Heart.

Posted by Jeffrey Wells at June 13, 2009 7:08 AM

comment #8

Steven Kar says ...

Is he a paedophile?

Posted by Steven Kar at June 13, 2009 7:10 AM

comment #9

jesse says ...

Ray, the book this is based on is actually terrific, and that's not the ending of the book... though who knows what they did with the movie. I'm a little worried -- maybe more than a little worried -- about the gauzy "magical" tone of the score and awful Lifehouse song. The book isn't about how this is a totally magical and romantic situation.

What I'm saying is, the book isn't a blueprint for a rote chick flick, but it's possible they've altered it until it is. I hope not, because the casting is good and I like some of the images in the trailer; if they let the sap run a lot less in the actual movie, it will work. But I'm pretty worried. This and I Love You Beth Cooper are actually two of my favorite semi-recent books.

Posted by jesse at June 13, 2009 8:05 AM

comment #10

Glabate says ...

Isn't this the same premise of the canceled TV show "Journeyman"?

Posted by Glabate at June 13, 2009 10:40 AM

comment #11

Chase Kahn says ...

oh whoops -- my bad.

Posted by Chase Kahn at June 13, 2009 10:58 AM

comment #12

/3rtfu11 says ...

FLIGHTPLAN...terrible.

So was Panic Room.

Posted by /3rtfu11 at June 13, 2009 11:24 AM

comment #13

Jack South P.I. says ...

I went to a Guillermo del Toro book signing a couple of weeks ago and asked him about his panned update of 'Slaughterhouse Five.' He sounded like he was having trouble nailing the script and wasn't sure if it would ever be reborn. Too bad; I'd rather see that than a hundred "Hobbit' movies. Cool guy. Loves his fans.

Posted by Jack South P.I. at June 13, 2009 11:30 AM

comment #14

DeeZee says ...

I thought Slaughterhouse Five for Girls is Time Cop.

Posted by DeeZee at June 13, 2009 12:54 PM

comment #15

jackfly11 says ...

Speaking as a dude, the book was all kinds of amazing: smart, emotional and very very dark at turns. Strange then to see the movie getting the Lakehouse treatment though it's probably the right move for New Line to chase The Notebook crowd.

If the movie is true to the book (and keeps its teeth, particularly towards the end), guys who get dragged to see this will probably be a little surprised how much they like it. Despite the title, I didn't really think of it as much of a "chick" book when I read it. Emphasis was definitely on the Eric Bana character.

Posted by jackfly11 at June 13, 2009 4:15 PM

comment #16