One of my favorite films of 2009, The Time Traveler’s Wife releases on DVD & Blu-ray next week and this is definitely the must have DVD of the month if I had to choose.

Lose yourself in timeless love with this gloriously romantic story of the journey of two hearts. Artist Clare Abshire (Rachel McAdams of The Notebook) shares a deep emotional bond with Henry De Tamble (Eric Bana of The Other Boleyn Girl), a handsome librarian who travels involuntarily through time. Knowing they can be separated without warning, Clare and Henry treasure the moments they have together, imbuing them with the yearning and passion of two people imprisoned by time…and set free by love. Based on the #1 bestseller, The Time Traveler’s Wife weaves together destiny and devotion, past and future to turn an extraordinary love into an extraordinary love story.

Release Date: February 9, 2010
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 107 Minutes

The Time Traveler’s Wife is one of the best films of 2009 in my opinion as it blends science fiction and romance, genres not usually mixed (on the big screen) so well and takes you on an emotionally engaging and memorable journey that will have you anticipating the drive to the book store to pick up your copy of the book if you don’t already have it. What incredibly complex characters. If you thought Henry was quite the character, Henry & Clare’s daughter is in her own world. The acting is fantastic, the writing is brilliant, and the scenery is beautiful and sets the tone of the film so well. The film takes place from the 1970’s to the early 2000’s though not in that straightforward order.

It will amaze you the emotional impact this film will have on you as there are many themes that run throughout the 107 minutes. Fate is a believe it or not a conflict in this film and as much as it may be beautiful to watch, there are just as many moments that will make your heart ache. What an incredibly gripping story this is. Though since this film is only 107 minutes, it only begins to highlight the wonderful fantasy world that Audrey Niffenegger created in her 2003 best seller.

So if you watch and enjoy reading, you will be drawn to the book afterwords and if you don’t enjoy reading, I can promise you that you will be thinking about what’s more to this complex world for a long, long time. My only gripe, not sure if this is about the book or the film (since I have yet to pick up the book which is #1 on my to do list)…it seems awfully foolish to have the power to time travel but you can’t control it or change the past. Hmm… no matter, this film is very engaging and you will not be disappointed.

Special Features:

Love Beyond Words – What a fabulous feature detailing The Time Traveler’s Wife from paper to the big screen. Viewers will find out quite a few fun facts, including the fact that Rachel McAdams read the book before there was talk of a film, so she was very excited for the film adaptation. It is not mentioned if the casting department knew this beforehand but amazing job on their part for picking the perfect actress for this role. She knew her character inside and out. Fantastic. Eric Bana discussed being influenced by both the book and the script, which can be quite tricky as he points out. The screenwriter, Bruce Rubin, and producers, Nick Wechsler and Dede Gardner also appear in this feature. What I found to be the most interesting was director, Robert Schwentke discuss the themes dealt with in the book that he definitely wanted to deal with on screen, as well as the flow/direction of movie, perspective, and more. As McAdams mentions, this a truly a film that you learn more about each time you watch it and the same goes for this special feature. The only thing missing is author, Audrey Niffenegger discussing the concept of the book and her journey of seeing her book come to life. Let’s hope for a special edition to be released later down the line. I know I’d be first in line to get it.

Get The Time Traveler’s Wife on Blu-ray, DVD, & Download February 9, 2010.