Have you ever daydreamed about being immortal? Have you fantasized about staying young, never changing as the world rolls on? But what if you really had the opportunity? What if someone offered you a sip from the fountain of youth? Think about the consequences. What would you do?
This is the choice Winnie Foster (Alexis Bledel, "Gilmore Girls") is faced with in "Tuck Everlasting." A stifled teenager held hostage by her strict, wealthy parents, Winnie longs to escape the drudgery of becoming a proper young lady. When she finally does work up the courage to walk out her front gate, she ends up being thrust into a whole new world -- the world of the Tucks.
The Tucks are a kind, quiet family who, from the outside, seem completely normal despite the fact that they are harboring an amazing secret. They have found the fountain of youth and have drunk from it: They are immortal.
This immortality at first seems wonderful. As the movie progresses, however, both Winnie and the audience learn that perhaps eternity on earth isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Mae (Sissy Spacek) and Angus (William Hurt) Tuck are lonely parents, unable to form friendships with other humans because of their secret. Their sons, Jesse (Jonathan Jackson, "General Hospital") and Miles (Scott Bairstow, "Wild America") wander the earth, trying to escape the mysterious man in the yellow suit (Ben Kingsley) who has been tracking them.
The short period of time that Winnie spends with the Tucks revolutionizes her outlook on life. A large portion of the movie focuses on Winnie's developing romantic relationship with Jesse, and it is this relationship that eventually presents Winnie with the most important choice she will ever make.
She can drink from the spring and spend eternity, young and in love, with Jesse. Or, she can return to her parents and wait to see where life will lead her.
The climax of the movie comes when the man in the yellow suit finally tracks down the Tucks. Suddenly their quiet lifestyle is thrown into chaos, dragging Winnie along with it.
This movie is absolutely incredible. I am always leery about movies made from classic books, for they are hardly ever able to capture the essence of the story they are trying to recreate. I was especially nervous going in to "Tuck Everlasting," because Natalie Babbit's novel is one of my favorite childhood books. I was pleasantly surprised, however, by how magically this film is able to present Babbit's theme.
The all-star cast is phenomenal, and the combination of the musical score and the cinematography create a beautiful, almost dreamlike feeling. The most breathtaking scene in the movie is one in which Winnie, by the light of a bonfire, dances to the accompaniment of nature's music and Jesse's percussion.
I was swept away by this movie. I believe that anyone who has some of the child they once were left in them will be enchanted as well. The Tucks will definitely leave an "everlasting" impression on anyone who watches this film.
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