Blake Lively films period film ‘Adaline’: can she pull off the 1950s costumes?

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I would never have chosen Blake Lively for a period film, but I have to say… she doesn’t look too bad in mid-20th-century costume. These are photos of Blake on the Vancouver set of Age of Adaline, her new starring role in a feature film. Blake hasn’t been on a film set since 2011, when she did Oliver Stone’s Savages. And she wrapped on Gossip Girl in 2012. So, it’s been about a year and a half since she’s worked as an actress, and about two-and-half years since she’s been on a film set. Did she do that on purpose? That’s the debate. While I don’t doubt that Blake could have hustled up some film work before now, I do wonder if she’s being offered the kind of roles she thinks she deserves. It’s the Biel Syndrome.

But, Blake got a lead and she’s filming it in her husband’s home country. Ryan Reynolds has been in Vancouver too, and he stopped by to see Blake yesterday. I guess they had lunch together. This too is one of the reasons that Blake didn’t work for a while: she was loved up and she hung up her Hustlin’ Boots. She was focused on her marriage and that’s her choice. Bless her.

As for this film, which is either going to be called Adaline or Age of Adaline, it is period… sort of. Blake plays a woman who stops aging at the age of 29 after a near-fatal accident. She gets to be Forever 29 throughout the 20th century, until she meets a man and something happens. I can’t wait to see 1970s Blake.

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Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

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46 Responses to “Blake Lively films period film ‘Adaline’: can she pull off the 1950s costumes?”

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  1. Diane says:

    She can sure pull off the costumes but I’m not so sure about the acting. She’s terrible.

    • Nessa says:

      Yup. Pretty much. She is awful.

    • drea says:

      I think she’s going to look great in the clothes and she’s going to have pretty hair… and well, that’s it. I hope they set aside a nice budget for the vintage clothing, maybe I’d watch it on video just for that.

    • kimber says:

      Yup looks arent the issue. .pretty girl..it’s her speech and acting that’s horrendously lacking.

      This reminds me of Jessica biel’s attempt at that period piece something …virtue… god that was a bad bad bad bad movie and just a joke.

  2. emli says:

    whoa that is some serious “acting”-face though, at least she looks super-duper focused!

  3. blue marie says:

    I think she looks cute, she’s got great legs. Is she playing a blind woman because the photos look contradictory.

  4. Artemis says:

    ‘can she pull off the 1950s costumes?’

    Based on her body type and general generic good looks: yes. Especially with professional people around her because god knows how awful she looked when she bragged about not having a stylist: Marchesa, bland and forgettable.

    More importantly, can she pull of acting? Based on above stills, she’s pulling the same facial expressions for different scenes: Eyebrow Acting + gazing intensely in the distance, made popular by Jaden Smith (and Justin Timberlake).

    And why is Ryan Reynolds?

    • mercy says:

      Why is Ryan Reynolds? Go straight to his indies and you will find a very good actor. Buried, The Nines, Definitely Maybe, Smokin’ Aces, Fireflies in The Garden, Chaos Theory, etc.

  5. Talie says:

    She was pretty decent in The Town. I thought her and Jeremy Renner were best in show as the cracked out siblings.

    • She wasn’t bad. Boston accents are next-to-impossible to do and she did a passable job of it, even though the accent went in-and-out a couple times.

      • mercy says:

        I’m not from the area, but they all sounded like they were laying it on thick with the accent, even Boston native Affleck. She was convincingly drunk! Wahlberg is another who’s accent I find unnatural sounding, but maybe it’s just me.

      • FLORC says:

        When people hear a true boston or southie accent after only hearing those in the movies they think it’s too OTT or cartoonish. They really are just that thick. Though I haven’t lived there in forever if I get on a rant while drinking it slips out.

        The Departed did a terrific job of the accent and banter.

        And I like Blake. There are worse actresses out there getting better roles and still praised. I think Lainey’s BI really tainted the water for her.

      • I thought Blake sounded Russian, but then again–you’d know Kitten. I’d like to see Boston one of these days…it seems like it’s really pretty.

      • Bridget says:

        @Florc: Teddy C’s Blind Item is the one I remember about Blake (Veronica Bee Stings who was happily sleeping her way to her parts).

        I miss Ted.

  6. Liv says:

    Apropo Biel, did anyone read Lainey’s blind, which was obviously (in my opinion) about the Timberlakes?

      • Tiffany :) says:

        She hinted she has a painkiller problem, and that is why Timberlake had to cancel shows, because he was tending to his wife. According to Lainey, she was flattered by the attention to her health scare, which has people worried it will only encourage the behavior.

      • Liv says:

        Oh and I just realize that Biel and Garner are best friends, aren’t they? Crazy.

      • blue marie says:

        The Timberlakes was my guess as well

    • mercy says:

      She’s had a couple druggie blinds lately. I thought Lainey didn’t deal in the ‘sad stuff.’ I don’t generally believe in blinds, but she seems a lot more cautious about running them than she used to be, I will give her that. Her most recent one sounds like it’s supposed to be Biel (prescription pill popper) and Timberlake (her caretaker), and the older one seems to suggest Aflleck (pills again) and Garner (devoted wife).

      • FLORC says:

        Sounds like these ideas are getting recycled hoping 1 gets it right.

        Timberlake just doesn’t seem like a loving husband or the type to have it not be about him.

      • mercy says:

        That was the key to figuring it was supposed to be JT. She said it was ‘out of character’ for him. Not a fan of either, but I don’t really believe it. Biel seems super healthy, and what you said about Timberlake.

  7. Huh says:

    Straight to dvd

    • lol..you guys are mean 😉

    • mercy says:

      Not a blockbuster, but it might be a sweet little movie. Good cast, with Ellen Burstyn, Harrison Ford, and up-and-comer Michiel Huisman, and I enjoyed the director’s previous effort (Celeste and Jesse Forever). Blake was good in Elvis and Anabelle, a little indie romantic drama.

  8. Alyce says:

    I think she’s beautiful and was good in the Private Lives of Pippa Lee (haven’t seen the Town or Savages) and not great at all in Gossip Girl. I wish her luck!

  9. ldub says:

    i like her.
    shes a decent actress.
    she’s seems genuinely bubbly/positive and not beave showin or strung out.
    don’t know what all the HATE is about.

  10. TG says:

    I want that skirt and sweater so bad but alas, it is Gucci so BEYOND my budget.

  11. Mel M says:

    I don’t get the hype with her but she doesn’t bother me since she’s been on hiatus for a while and not try-harding it all over. Mr. M used to hate when I’d watch GG because he hates her voice ha!

  12. Size Does Matter says:

    She’s pretty and looks lovely in the costumes. But he’s prettier.

  13. GoodNamesAllTaken says:

    This isn’t her fault, but the first outfit looks 60’s and the second looks more 40’s. I’m not seeing the fifties. Oh who cares, I’m boring myself.

  14. Lux says:

    Usually I can make it though bad movies (I tend to get antsy if I don’t finish a film). However, I started watching Hick a few weeks ago and I just couldn’t do it. Blake was awful. AWFUL. Even looking back at old GG episodes she’s cringeworthy. I hate to be a b**** but I don’t think she’s ever going to amount to much as an actress.

    • mercy says:

      I’d heard terrible things about Hick, but I love me some Eddie Redmayne, and the NY Times (who hated it) said Blake was “suprisingly good” so I gave it a chance. The movie was bad. Very difficult subject matter to begin with, but the storytelling was poorly executed, even though it had some cracking dialogue. I found the actors to be mostly good, however, especially Eddie, Blake, and Juliette Lewis.

  15. HoustonGrl says:

    It’s true she is quite selective in her film roles, which is probably a smart move (a la Dicaprio after Titanic). Still, I think she lacks depth and is too generic to pull off complex characters. She might develop and grow as an actress so who knows.

  16. manta says:

    I’m still on the fence about her acting. I first saw her in The private lives of Pippa Lee, a film I picked because I love Robin Wright, and truly enjoyed Rebecca Miller’s first movie.

    Given the awful things written about her acting, I was prepared to find her atrocious and ridiculous among Arkin,Maria Bello and Julianne Moore. And sorry but I did enjoy her turn in this,Wynona Ryder,one of the lovechild of this site was far more annoying.
    And then, bad turn in Savages, but I’m not sure I can hold that against her, everybody was terrible in this.
    So, thanks to Pippa Lee, she’s a notch above Biel for me.

  17. Seán says:

    Ryan Reynolds looks like he’s trying to morph into Ryan Gosling!

    • mercy says:

      Maybe they share a stylist? 😉 I don’t see it, though. No Gos-like tank tops for RR, and the mustache is for a movie.

  18. JenniferJustice says:

    Blake is pretty and has a nice body. She can wear just about anything and I really like her casual style. The only problem with 50s costumes, is they don’t seem realistic on her because women in the 50s didn’t have hard fake boobs and they didn’t wear underwire bras. Their breasts were positioned and hung completely different. She should be wearing a pointing bra like they did in the 50s.

  19. lucy says:

    Can she pull off the acting?

  20. mercy says:

    The outfits are gorgeous, especially the blue ensemble, and I love the hair and makeup. I think this style works best for her. She reminds me a little of the actress who plays Libby in Showtime’s ‘Masters of Sex’ series.

  21. CK says:

    She stops aging at 29 when she meets a man? If you throw in a terminal illness and an friend who turns out to be a ghost wife, you’d have the next Nicholas Sparks picture. That being said, I agree that Blake is going to be fantastic…. in the clothes. I really don’t feel like she has the range to pull off an “aging” role and by that I mean, she’s probably going to mentally act 29 for each time period a la Kirsten Dunst in Marie Antoinette as an 18 year old throughout the entirety of her life.