Plot Explanation
After being struck by lighting and not becoming toast, a mysteriously un-aging Adaline lives her life running from one identity to another to avoid a lab-rat situation. She happens to fall in love with a young William (who is on the verge of proposing to her) but ditches him because of her condition, and with a heavy heart continues with her life of escape. Forty years later, Adaline falls in love with Ellis who, coincidentally, turns out to be William’s son. After telling William her truth, she again runs for it, has a change of heart, turns around only to be hit by a truck, is de-fibrillated back to life, and regains her ability to age again. Adaline happily hooks up with Ellis leaving William to somehow come to terms with this convoluted state of existence. Throughout, an overly detailed explanation of highly implausible science presented by a narrator removes the need to apply one’s mind or write an explanatory article.
Director: Lee Toland Krieger
Cast: Blake Lively, Michiel Huisman, Harrison Ford
While you’re here…
Love mind-bending movies?
→ Join the conversation
Looking to stream a movie or series?
→ Where To Watch
Love movie-based games?
→ Play Movie Hangman
→ Play Hollywordle
A note from Barry
I've always believed the best part of a movie isn't the ending—it's the discussion afterwards.
Every week I read theories that are completely different from my own, and that's my favourite part of running This Is Barry.
If you have your own interpretation—or you're simply curious to see how others understood the movie, I'd love to have you join the conversation.
Barry is a technologist who helps start-ups build successful products. His love for movies and production has led him to write his well-received film explanation and analysis articles to help everyone appreciate the films better. He’s regularly available for a chat conversation on his website and consults on storyboarding from time to time.
Click to browse all his film articles