(Beware: Spoilers Abound!)
These days, it’s apparently cool to be a “brainiac.”
But that was not the case when I was in 5th grade. Especially not for a girl. And triply not for one who needed glasses to see the blackboard.
Which is why it changed my life when my 5th-grade teacher, Miss Cochrane, told the class that she had a book she was going to read to us every day during lunch.
That book was “A Wrinkle in Time,” by Madeleine L’Engle.
The central character in the story is Meg Murry, a gawky, near-sighted high school girl.
She is very bright, but has many faults including stubbornness and a ferocious temper.
Of course, it’s hard to keep your temper when your father, who is some kind of scientist, has apparently taken off, four years ago, never to return — and everyone in town is snickering about it, behind your back.
Meg, her little brother Charles Wallace, and a school friend end up traveling the universe, with the help of three vaguely celestial beings, to find and free her father from an evil Darkness that turns out to have been holding him prisoner the entire time.
Before the story is over, Meg’s brother falls under the same spell, and Meg must rescue him as well.
One of the most important points in the book, for me, comes when Mrs. Whatsit (one of the beings) tells Meg that some of her strongest weapons, in this fight, will be her faults.
Her faults?
Growing up, that meant a lot to me — for I had a lot of faults, too.
The whole world is happy to tell an adolescent girl what she is doing wrong. “You’re too pushy.” “You’re too quiet.” “You’re too stubborn.” “But don’t be a quitter.” “Your skirt’s too short.” “Your bangs are too long.” “Your hair is too curly!” “It’s not curly enough!” And always, always, always, your body is wrong.
So many faults! It is incredibly empowering to think of them as weapons, instead. And at various difficult times in my life, this very thought has helped me through.
I have also found life-long inspiration in the beings’ advice to the children that “We mustn’t lose our sense(s) of humor. The only way to cope with something deadly serious is to try to treat it a little lightly.”
So along comes Ava DuVernay, making a movie of this book for Disney — a book she had apparently never heard of, until Disney approached her, dangling a multi-million dollar budget.
According to an interview, what convinced her? Not the story, but the chance to create new worlds.
And indeed, DuVernay seems to have been intoxicated by her galactic budget. Oh, she does a decent job (except for some suspiciously Avatar-like moments on the planet Uriel).
But overall, I’m afraid she gets so caught up with sets, and costumes, and special effects, that she loses sight of the story.
In the book, Meg’s greatest epiphany comes when she realizes she cannot fight the Darkness — which the book calls “IT” — with Hate.
“Hate was nothing that IT didn’t have. IT knew all about hate. … Suddenly (Meg) knew. She knew! Love. That was what she had that IT did not have.”
And that is how Meg frees her brother, so that everyone can go home.
In the film, these scenes boil down to a lot of thunder and lightning and special effects. You could get carried away with them.
Certainly Ms. DuVernay did.
Everything is there but the heart.
By contrast, I found the movie “Black Panther” to be completely successful. Costumes, scenery, special effects — all were amazing, but always in service to the story.
It’s a story I never knew, so perhaps it was somewhat easier for me to be amazed. But I don’t think that’s what made the difference.
Director Ryan Coogler never loses sight of the plot — throughout many stunts and locations — and never lets us lose sight of it, either.
There are also many strong secondary characters whose motivations remain separate and clear — including many women (refreshing for a superhero movie).
My favorite is Letitia Wright who plays Shuri, the Panther’s spunky sister … who is also the technical wizard behind all the gadgets. She would prove a worthy opponent for James Bond’s “Q,” should the two ever meet.
I fear that “A Wrinkle in Time” still awaits its definitive movie version. Luckily, the “Black Panther” is ready for you now!
