The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)

Plot synopsis of The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)

In the 1970s, Henry DeTamble is in the backseat as his mom, Annette, drives while singing to him. It’s Christmas Eve, and suddenly, a truck skids out of control and collides with their car. While they spin out of control, Henry notices himself slowly fading away. Confused by it, Annette cannot help but wonder why it's happening. Henry inadvertently travels two weeks back, where he sees his parents reading a book to him.

In disbelief, Henry closes his eyes and travels back to the present, where he sees their car crash ultimately. Standing naked on the side of the road, Henry is clothed by a man who claims to be Henry as an adult. The older Henry comforts his younger self and introduces the concept of time travel. Afterward, the older version of him fades into thin air and arrives at a library where he works. The thing about his time travels is that he ends up naked in random places where he is drawn.

The following day, a woman named Clare Abshire recognizes Henry at the library. She gazes at him in complete amazement, but he has no clue as to why. Clare tells Henry that "this would happen," but he remains clueless. Instead, she invites him over to dinner at a local restaurant so she can go further into detail. While he gets ready for their meeting, Henry begins to fade again and ends up in a dark alley. When he arrives at the time and place he is currently living, he steals clothes and picklocks to get by.

Unfortunately, he gets cornered by a police officer after being caught trespassing. But once Henry gets into a vehicle, the police are stunned after seeing him disappear. Henry meets with Clare at the restaurant, and she talks about how she has known him for most of her life. She brings out a diary where she logs every time Henry visits her. Henry explains that he visits certain places a lot because significant events in his life pull him in, like gravity.

Lovingly, Clare lets him know that he is her best friend, as she feels a sense of comfort whenever he visits. To end the night, both of them go over to Henry's place, where they share an intimate moment. That same night, Clare recalls her first memory of meeting Henry at the meadow of her parents' house. She was six years old when she met an older version of Henry naked in the woods and gave him a blanket to cover up.

Henry explains to young Clare that he is a time traveler and will be friends in the future, but the little girl is skeptical about it. Before he travels back, Henry tells her that he will return on Tuesday and asks if she could bring clothes for him. Clare remains unconvinced until she sees him disappear before her eyes. The following day, Clare finds lipstick inside Henry's medicine and doubts if their relationship could last.

Despite being happy with him, she had only known the older, more mature Henry from her childhood, while Henry is in his twenties and has his faults. Henry assures her that he is working on himself to be a better person and developing a deeper relationship with Clare. One night, she introduces Henry to her best friends, Charisse and Gomez, who are in a relationship. Days after, Gomez stumbles upon a brawl in the streets and finds out that Henry is part of it.

The concerned Gomez breaks up the fight and sees Henry in women's clothing, explaining that he fought because the other guy was being discriminatory. Confused about the whole situation, Gomez questions Henry about his involvement in the street fight. Henry finally reveals that he is a time traveler, but Gomez gets even more clueless. Seeing Henry fade into thin air, Gomez is lost for words and finally believes that he can time-travel.

As a good friend, Gomez expresses his concerns to Clare about being in a relationship with Henry. According to him, it will not do her any good, but she defends herself and says that she has been waiting for him her whole life. Meanwhile, Henry travels back to the time before his mother's death, running into her on the train. He longingly opens a conversation to say that he is a big fan of her singing and wishes that his girlfriend could get a chance to hear Annette's voice.

Both of them engage in small talk, and Annette says that she also has a son named Henry. Before he leaves the train, Henry reminds Annette that her son loves her so much, to which she replies, "I know." Back in the present, Henry visits his withdrawn father, Richard, to check on him. Richard was once a violinist, but he can no longer play due to his drinking problems and failing health.

Both get into a heated argument about Annette's engagement ring, which Henry is asking for. The father and son have not moved on from Annette's death and still grieve such a devastating loss. Before leaving, Richard entrusts the ring to his son, making amends in their shaky relationship. The following day, Henry sits by Clare's bed and contemplates how to open the proposal. He simply slides his mother's ring on Clare's finger and asks if she would marry him, to which she replies with a sweet "yes."

After some time, they prepare for the wedding and make their way to the Abshires' mansion. Clare's family welcomes Henry, including her father, who is a hunter. To initiate a bond between them, Clare's father invites Henry to go hunting with him one of these days, and he happily accepts the invitation. Hours before the ceremony, Henry sees Richard, which is highly unexpected. He comes to his father and gives him an embrace just as he gets ready.

As Henry's best man, Gomez stays with him throughout the preparation and notices that the groom has disappeared. Because Henry does not have control over his travels, Gomez falls into a state of panic. With the guests waiting outside, they are in a critical situation, leaving him frantic. Out of nowhere, a much older Henry arrives and hurriedly wears a tux. As if nothing happened, he walked down the aisle and longingly looked at Clare while she walked beautifully toward him.

She is surprised to see a future version of Henry with gray hair, but they laugh it off. At the wedding reception, the present-day Henry shows up just in time for their first dance. Clare looks at him with complete admiration as they dance on stage in front of family and friends. The new bride and groom then jump on the bed to celebrate the eventful day on their own. As they are having fun, Henry disappears completely, leaving Clare alone in the room on their honeymoon.

Henry arrives at the meadow, where he finds clothes prepared by the young Clare for him. He finds Clare having a small picnic in the open field and is offered a sandwich by the little girl. She asks him if he is married, and after he says he is, Clare gets upset. However, Henry does not reveal that both of them end up together in the future. Back in the present, Henry climbs into bed to cuddle and tease Clare for being jealous of herself when she was young.

As time goes by, Clare and Henry live the life of a young married couple as they move into their new apartment. Despite finding happiness in each other, Henry's time-traveling puts a strain on their marriage. At times, he unintentionally leaves Clare for days or weeks, but the situation is beyond his control. Clare gets more upset about it as time progresses, but she willingly agreed to marry him after all.

Both get into an argument because Henry missed Christmas and New Year's Day, leaving her lonely during the festive times. She then leaves for work, claiming that her new art show is becoming too stressful. That night, Henry waits for Clare outside the art studio and brings her to a television store. Inside, they watch the lottery drawing, and Henry hands Clare a lottery ticket with a set of numbers that he memorized. After knowing the numbers that will be called, they win an astounding amount of five million dollars.

Henry then says, "There are a lot of downsides to my condition, but this is not one of them." It is more than enough for them to purchase a spacious home that would accommodate Clare's hobby and passion, which is painting. At the new house, Gomez and a pregnant Charisse come over for dinner. While preparing food, they hear distant noises from the living room, and as they check, they could not believe what they saw. They run into a bleeding Henry, who seems to be on the brink of death, even gasping for air.

This version of Henry is extremely wounded, but he disappears abruptly. All of them are caught in disbelief, but the present Henry simply walks away. Later, Clare and Henry discuss what they saw, but he seems uninterested, saying that he has no idea when or how he will die. She expresses her worries because all her life, she has never seen an old Henry during his time travels. It could mean that he died, but she is also hopeful that he will find a cure in the near future.

Before they end the conversation, Clare reveals that she is pregnant, leaving Henry speechless and in tears. While having a meal at a local restaurant, Clare feels a tingling pain in her stomach and finds blood coming out of her. Before she can process what is happening, another pain strikes her, and she is rushed to the hospital. Henry arrives, and Clare lets him know that they lost the baby, thinking that it also time-traveled out of her womb.

Desperate to know more about his condition, Henry consults a geneticist named Dr. Kendrick to help him. The doctor performs a scan on him, but Henry time-travels again before they can complete it. Eventually, Clare and Henry meet with Dr. Kendrick to discuss the findings: Henry's travels are caused by a genetic chromosome mutation, which means his child will likely have this problem too. The doctor recommends some medicine that could calm the brain and body functions to prevent it.

That night, Henry wakes up to see blood all over their bed. He wakes Clare to break the news that she had another miscarriage. The recurring loss is putting too much strain on their relationship, making them argue more often. All Clare wants is to be a mother, but Henry's condition is stopping her from becoming one. This is Henry's last straw; he does not want to put his wife through the stress of miscarriage anymore, so he has a vasectomy. The procedure is done behind his wife's back, and after the operation, he time-travels.

Ending up in the meadow, an 18-year-old Clare approaches him and is concerned about his demeanor. Henry apologizes for doing something she won't like, but says he had to do it. When the younger Clare becomes insistent, Henry kisses her hard, upsetting the young lady because it is their first kiss, and it does not feel special. To make up for it, Henry kisses her lovingly before traveling back to the present.

As he arrives home, he already knows how the conversation about his vasectomy will end. He gathers up all the courage to tell Clare, and she becomes speechless after hearing it. Henry explains that he does not want his child to go through what he experienced, like time-traveling without warning and being placed in dangerous situations. Clare is devastated beyond words and breaks down. She finds it difficult to come to terms with the fact that she can never have a child with Henry.

That night, the couple sleeps in separate rooms because of their recent fight. Shortly after, Clare receives a phone call from a young Henry who needs help in a parking garage. When he enters the car, Clare talks to him about her problems with the future version of him, and they share an intimate moment. Back in their home, Clare tells Henry what happened, and she explains that she did not cheat on their marriage because it is still him.

She also reveals that she is pregnant again, but she does not get her hopes up to save herself from being hurt this time. The couple schedules an ultrasound appointment, where they find out that they are having a baby girl. According to their doctor, the baby is perfectly healthy, and they have nothing to worry about. Clare's current pregnancy is the longest she has kept the baby, so she decides to come up with a name. However, when they brainstorm for a name for their future daughter, Henry time-travels.

He wakes up in a zoo without any clothing and inside a glass cage, where people can see him from outside. Upon making his way out, a little girl yells, "Daddy!" He turns around and sees her come closer. She hugs Henry and introduces herself as a 10-year-old Alba, saying that she misses him so much. At this point, Henry is taken aback, realizing that Clare's pregnancy has been successful. Henry and Alba take a walk outside, where Alba informs Henry that she can also time-travel, but she can control it.

Sadly, she tells her father that he died when she was just five years old, which upsets him. They part ways after Alba's teacher calls her back inside. In the present, Clare gives birth to a healthy baby girl. She was raised in a happy home full of love and laughter alongside their other family members. On Alba's fifth birthday, Henry cannot help but feel uneasy, remembering his conversation with his daughter in the future.

At the same time, he is preoccupied with preparations for the party and thoughts of his death, when an older version of Alba visits. She plays with her younger self and tells her that Henry's days are numbered. In a cloudy mood, Alba returns to the house, making Clare concerned. At the party, she also sees her daughter talking to Henry as if something is upsetting Alba—a sight that bothers her all night.

Later, Alba can no longer keep the secret and tells her mother that Henry's death is nearing. Clare accepts this harsh truth and discusses it with Henry as she comforts him. The following day, Henry time-travels again, only to return with hypothermia. He is rushed to the hospital after needing immediate medical care as he shrieks in pain. The worried Clare expresses her concerns to Dr. Kendrick, saying that he could be helpless in his travels and might die if Henry cannot run.

Later, Henry is confined to a wheelchair, and Alba comes to him to give tips on how to control his travels. According to her, when she feels like fading, she sings to herself. She practices with Henry, who feels like he is about to go, but it is ineffective, and he fades away. Henry wakes up in the snow and finds out that he will die on New Year's Eve after seeing a tragic scene inside their house. Weeks pass, and Henry spends his remaining days with his family during the holidays.

He cherishes every moment he has with his wife and daughter, who are the most important people in his life. On New Year's Eve, Clare and Henry throw a party in their house, gathering all their loved ones together. After saying his goodbyes to Gomez and thanking him for their friendship, Henry talks with Clare outside. She senses that something is amiss and realizes that Henry's death is just around the corner.

They share their final moment before the clock hits midnight. As the fireworks display begins, Henry fades into thin air, leaving Clare alone on that cold night. Henry regains consciousness and finds himself in the snowy woods next to the meadow. He sees a deer just beside him in the early hours of the day, which immediately runs away after hearing a voice. Out of nowhere, a gun fires and hits Henry, who disappears at that instant.

From the woods, Clare's father and brother emerge, who are hunting. They arrive at the spot where Henry used to lie, now covered in blood. Assuming that they just clipped a deer, the father and son have no idea that they accidentally shot Clare's husband. Back in the present, Henry arrives at the party, dying and out of breath. Clare, Alba, and the rest of the guests run to him and slowly accept his fate. In his dying breath, Henry tells Clare how much he loves her.

Days pass, and Clare is still shaken by Henry's passing, so Alba climbs into bed to comfort her mother. After some years, a nine-year-old Alba plays with Gomez and Charisse's kids in the meadow. To her surprise, Henry comes out of the woods, welcoming her with a big embrace. The other kids run back to the house to call Clare as Henry tells Alba how he met her mother. Without hesitation, Clare runs to the meadow and hugs Henry as tightly as she can.

She asks Henry why he didn't say he'd be back in the meadow, to which he replies that he does not want her to spend her life waiting. After their passionate kiss, Henry disappears once again, imprinting a familiar feeling of loss on her. Clare picks up his clothes, and Alba comes to her as they leave the meadow peacefully.

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Movie Recap of The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)