With jarring tonal shifts, scenes that go nowhere, and mismatched performances by such stars as Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon, director Ava DuVernay’s “A Wrinkle in Time” is a mess.
But this adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s beloved 1962 novel is such a glorious and fascinating mess — teeming with visual splendor and imagination, and providing the weary world a hopeful message delivered by a spunky new heroine — that it’s worth buying a ticket to see for yourself.
Meg Murry (played by the amazingly named Storm Reid) is a 13-year-old student who spends more time in the principal’s office than in class.