Based on Richard Matheson's 1975 novel, "
Bid Time Return."
This was Christopher Reeve's first starring role after the first
Superman picture (1978). This film would probably be labeled as fantasy by many, but the sci-fi elements of time travel are definitely here, though Reeve's character, Richard, basically 'wills' himself backwards through time, rather than employing some kind of machinery (as was done in
The Time Machine,
Time After Time, and the
Back to the Future films). The focus of
Somewhere in Time is a love story and traveling much further than a continent to make that romantic connection.
The story begins in the early 1970's; at that point, Richard has just begun a career as a young playwright and is approached by an elderly lady who places an old watch in his hands, saying "
come back to me." Richard has no clue what this is about and soon forgets about the incident. 8 years later, Richard, feeling unfulfilled, drives to the Grand Hotel to relax his mind. There, he becomes entranced with a photographic portrait of actress Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour), whose heyday was 1912. Quickly researching her life, he comes across the last known photo of Elise and is stunned to find that she is the elderly woman who gave him the watch! Soon after, he finds evidence that he visited the Grand Hotel in 1912, as impossible as that seems. Well, even if you haven't seen the film before, you can kind of guess where things go from there.
Reeve was oddly suited to this role; as an actor, he was kind of a throwback to the stars of the 1930's & 1940's - tall, kind of old-fashioned - and he never fit in very well in contemporary roles. For the role of Elise, the filmmakers needed a certain serene kind of beauty and Seymour certainly fit the bill. Even her photo in this film, the one that mesmerizes Richard, has a beguiling quality to it, almost like a more recent version of the Mona Lisa. After all this time, this may very well turn out to be Seymour's signature role. Christopher Plummer has the only other substantial role in the film, as Elise's manager and watchdog; he provides the only element of possible menace and threat, but it's all rather benign.
I believe that, especially nowadays, with all the quick cutting and frantic pace that informs many films, this film is too leisurely for many people - especially young people - and others will not really understand it. This was even true back in 1980; many critics were not fond of it and it did not do good box office. I myself, when I first viewed it (I was about 20 years old), even as I admired the fantasy elements, found it a bit on the dull side and a little sappy. That changed later. There's one scene as the last third begins when we realize that when that portrait of Elise was taken, she was looking at Richard; it's a haunting, beautiful moment that transcends the usual limitations of film art. The official website:
This is one of those films which has developed a sizable cult following - I won't say of mostly older people, but perhaps old souls, those who appreciate a well-told romance, one which proceeds in an unfussy manner, without some contrived subplots to supposedly energize the story. It's all about making a connection - an impossible connection, it seems - but, hey, that's what the better movies are about, eh?
BoG's Score:
7.5Somewhere Trivia: the watch in this film, which is given to Richard, who in turn gives it to Elise, is an example of the "Ontological Paradox" in time travel; the object in this paradox was never built and simply exists in eternity; there was a similar object in David Gerrold's 1973 novel,
The Man Who Folded Himself; this film has strange similarities to
The Shining (1980), which also has a big hotel as its main setting, but in a more sinister vein; other more similar romance/sf films are
Quest For Love (71) and
The Lake House (2006).
