Somewhere in TimeThe past is a tether, and we may only be let so far along the lead. It is like the chain on the pocket watch gifted under mysterious circumstances to the young playwright, Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) from a older woman, telling him simply, "come back to me". The encounter is a fated one, and the watch is a seed which germinates within Richard, as he develops into one of the most sought after playwrights around. While escaping from the trappings of his unsatisfying life in the year 1980, he stops for the night at the Grand Hotel, and discovers a link to the past which flowers into an obsession.
|
|
Somewhere in Time is a love story, but with a metaphysical drive behind it. It is not really a science fiction story, but it does deal with time travel in a way. As Richard investigates the mysterious portrait in the Hall of History of the Grand Hotel--and the beautiful woman captured in the photograph--he learns that it was of the late actress, Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour), who passed away on the very night she gave him the antique pocket watch he still keeps in his possession. His desire to learn about this actress--who is credited with developing an early example of the allure of mystique--certainly propels him to far-reaching lengths to discover what secrets she kept...and what clues she left behind. Richard discovers too many coincidences to avoid reaching the conclusion that she had been trying to reach out to him, to call him in some way to the past. Among her articles is a book authored by a former philosophy professor of Richard's--a speculative book about the secrets of time travel. As Richard pursues this quest to find a way to connect with Elise, he presses Dr. Gerald Finney (George Voskovec) to enlighten him about the existence of travelling through time. His reply is that one must eliminate the elements of the modern and immerse oneself in an act of self-hypnosis...although Dr. Finney attests that it is a process he is to scared to attempt again; not so for the already stricken Richard, who plummets headlong into a total commitment to uniting with a true love he has never known. The idea that Richard can travel through time--and has--is hinted at as early as his meeting with the porter of the Grand Hotel, Arthur Biehl (Bill Erwin) in his native year of 1980, who discloses to Richard that he has the sense of meeting him somewhere before. Arthur becomes a resource for Richard as he plies him for information about the history of the hotel, as well as access to relics of the year 1912, the time when Elise McKenna and her manager, William Fawcett Robinson (Christopher Plummer) performed there.
Somewhere in Time presents a fairly original idea behind the notion of time travel; more than building a contraption to make the journey, the film suggests that even time is merely a state of mind, and that sufficiently convincing oneself otherwise is the equivalent of moving through the fourth dimension. The idea of crafting a highly convincing scenario to create the sense of being in another place and time is appropriate for Richard, himself a playwright, whose work is designed to do just that. Both Richard and Elise's lives are linked to the theater--the arena of illusion and false identities; but that falseness can sometimes show more truth about human nature than the simple telling. It is unsurprising that hypnosis is the method by which Richard and Elise meet; it is the act of, well, acting, if only with yourself as the audience. Although Richard removes any traces he can find which might dispel this temporal shift, he is keenly aware of certain facts which must remain constant and in place--anchors which make his hypnotic spell even more real--like the guest registry being signed at the precise time. Robinson's overprotective hold over Elise makes him come across like a jealous husband, although he always addresses her coldly by her last name, and protests that he has any designs on her. There is the mystery of Elise's apparent recognition of Richard when they first see each other in the past, asking him, "is it you?" While she says that Robinson had predicted Richard's arrival, there is the sense that even though they have never met, their destiny is so interwoven that the fact that they are strangers makes no difference to the feelings within their souls, a cyclical connection which, like the ouroboros--itself a symbol of unorthodox science, like time travel--winds back on itself, continuing forever. Somewhere in Time shares some similarities with the film, Last Year at Marienbad; both movies depict a strange--but charming--young man, who attempts to sway the affections of a distant--but lovely--woman with a fantastic story about their connection across time, while enduring the periodic interruptions by a dour sentinel, appearing to love the woman, but doing little more than keeping her captive. Although Richard follows the leads left behind by Elise, it is Elise who has left this multitude of clues for him to follow her back; without her laying the foundation for his odyssey, Richard's life would be far different. Elise is ultimately the prime mover of this story of love across time; she had to know what the end result would be, but it was a choice she had to make, knowing it would change both of them forever, even where time holds no dominion.
Recommended for: Fans of a sweet love story, of an obsession which transcends the confines of time and reality, where love is a primal force and where it is so strong, that it can alter the very nature of reality.
Somewhere in Time presents a fairly original idea behind the notion of time travel; more than building a contraption to make the journey, the film suggests that even time is merely a state of mind, and that sufficiently convincing oneself otherwise is the equivalent of moving through the fourth dimension. The idea of crafting a highly convincing scenario to create the sense of being in another place and time is appropriate for Richard, himself a playwright, whose work is designed to do just that. Both Richard and Elise's lives are linked to the theater--the arena of illusion and false identities; but that falseness can sometimes show more truth about human nature than the simple telling. It is unsurprising that hypnosis is the method by which Richard and Elise meet; it is the act of, well, acting, if only with yourself as the audience. Although Richard removes any traces he can find which might dispel this temporal shift, he is keenly aware of certain facts which must remain constant and in place--anchors which make his hypnotic spell even more real--like the guest registry being signed at the precise time. Robinson's overprotective hold over Elise makes him come across like a jealous husband, although he always addresses her coldly by her last name, and protests that he has any designs on her. There is the mystery of Elise's apparent recognition of Richard when they first see each other in the past, asking him, "is it you?" While she says that Robinson had predicted Richard's arrival, there is the sense that even though they have never met, their destiny is so interwoven that the fact that they are strangers makes no difference to the feelings within their souls, a cyclical connection which, like the ouroboros--itself a symbol of unorthodox science, like time travel--winds back on itself, continuing forever. Somewhere in Time shares some similarities with the film, Last Year at Marienbad; both movies depict a strange--but charming--young man, who attempts to sway the affections of a distant--but lovely--woman with a fantastic story about their connection across time, while enduring the periodic interruptions by a dour sentinel, appearing to love the woman, but doing little more than keeping her captive. Although Richard follows the leads left behind by Elise, it is Elise who has left this multitude of clues for him to follow her back; without her laying the foundation for his odyssey, Richard's life would be far different. Elise is ultimately the prime mover of this story of love across time; she had to know what the end result would be, but it was a choice she had to make, knowing it would change both of them forever, even where time holds no dominion.
Recommended for: Fans of a sweet love story, of an obsession which transcends the confines of time and reality, where love is a primal force and where it is so strong, that it can alter the very nature of reality.