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.