It isn’t often I can say I enjoyed the movie more than the book, but in the case of The Time Traveler’s Wife, I did—I really did! Know that I am a passionate book lover and movie lover – in an average week I read two books and see four films, so I have a lot of material upon which to base my opinions. I was delighted to see that the film version of the bestselling novel by Audrey Niffenegger got everything right and then some. There was not a disappointing moment in the lot.

The timeline in the script by Bruce Joel Rubin (who also wrote Ghost, to which this far superior film is being compared), is a bit erratic, but not unfollowable, as was, say, La Mome, the 2007 Edith Piaf bio. The characters are just as confused as we are, but everything is patiently and cunningly explained eventually. Robert Schwentke’s sentimental but not sappy direction contributes to its clarity.

The casting couldn’t have been finer, with the handsome and omni present Eric Bana, who has starred in three major films this summer (also Star Trek and Funny People), in the lead as the Time Traveler who can not control his spontaneous leaps to different periods in his life and the lives of those he loves. The love of his life is adoringly played by the irresistible Rachel McAdams, who is truly devoted, but not unaware of the drawbacks of being involved with someone who can’t guarantee that he won’t be off time traveling during important events like his own wedding. It’s especially maddening that when he pops in and out, he leaves his clothes behind, landing naked in whatever time and place he’s been spontaneously transported. He has to beg, borrow or steal whatever he can find on the spot, which often lands him in hot water with the law and the parents of nearby children.

The Time Traveler’s Wife takes itself just seriously enough to evoke tears here and there, and especially at the end. Movies about tragic, ill–fated love are always a welcome escape. No matter what condition our current relationships are in, we can be grateful they’re not as impossible as the ones on the big screen. A tender tale well-told and well-acted will get my admission dollars any day of the week. I just have to remember to bring tissues.

Rated PG-13

--Lisa Johnson Mandell