Em Algum Lugar do Passado

Somewhere In Time is not only a fantasy story. It is romance, science fiction, and fantasy rolled into one, based on Richard Matheson's novel, Bid Time Return, (Matheson also wrote the screenplay and has a cameo appearance in the film). Shot in 1980 and released by Universal Studios, it is a wonderful and, I feel, classic film that has stood the test of time. I am often surprised at how many persons of adult age have seen it. I cannot understand why Somewhere In Time has been panned by the critics since its release. Filmed on location in Chicago and Mackinac Island, Michigan, Somewhere In Time is a little long at 104 minutes. However, the story never drags so this is not a big liability. Directed by Jean Szarc, the cast is first rate, starring Christopher Reeve, (what a standard of personal courage he has set for us in recent years!) as the playwright Richard Collier, Jane Seymour, one of the loveliest ladies to ever grace either the large or small screens, as the actress Elise McKenna, and the fine character actor Christopher Plummer as the mean-spirited W.S. Robinson, McKenna's agent. The story begins in May, 1972. Playwright Collier is visited by a very old woman at a party he is attending at Millfield College, close to the Grand Island Hotel on Mackinac Island, which will be so important to the story later. She approaches and hands him a pocket watch. Cryptically, she says, "Come back to me.' We now fast forward eight years to Chicago, 1980. The restless Collier, who has recently broken up with his lady friend, is drawn to The Grand Hotel. Collier drives up to Mackinac Island and checks into the hotel. The kind-hearted Arthur, who has lived and worked at the hotel for 70 years, asks him if "they had met before." Collier assures him they have not. Collier chances upon an old photo of the turn of the century actress Elise McKenna in the hotel museum and is mesmerized by her. Arthur tells him that she appeared in a play at the hotel in 1912. Collier's obsession quickly grows and he begins research on her life. He comes across a photo of McKenna as an old woman and remembers her as the mysterious lady he met at the party. He discovers from her housekeeper that McKenna died eight years previous, on the very night she made herself known to him, and that something happened during her hotel appearance in 1912. After that, according to the housekeeper, she was never the same. During his visit to McKenna's home, he discovers a book on time travel that Elise read "again and again." After visiting with the book's author and, finding his own name in an old Grand Hotel register from 1912, Collier makes an intense effort to slip into the past, and succeeds. Soon, he meets Elise in the hotel, (he has transported himself to the time when Elise McKenna is staying in the hotel, preparing for her performance), and the scene where he and she meet is quite moving. At this point, the story becomes even better because Reeve does not have to carry it by himself. Seymour and Plummer step in and, what had been a good picture, becomes an excellent one for the duration. Richard and Elise quickly become drawn to each other, much to Robinson's unease. Robinson, who loves her but will not admit it, has a genuine concern when the playwright Richard Collier cannot name any of his work that he is familiar with. There is an unhealthy tension between these two strong-willed men until film's end. There are many interesting segments through this portion of the story. Entering the hotel restaurant, Collier seems to walk forever. The shot of the beautiful Elise, sitting at her makeup table with hair down and thrown over one shoulder, daydreaming of Richard, is enough to take the breath out of any man, (certainly this one!). The kiss first between Richard and Elise is very gentle and tender, and another lump forms in the throat when Elise again unpins her hair as Richard closes the door to room 117. But, perhaps the best scene in the entire film is when Elise, caught up with emotion, seems to ad-lib directly to an equally emotional Richard, sitting in the audience, during the hotel performance. Now is a good time to note that Jane Seymour possesses an interesting combination of hesitation and come-hither in look and demeanor. Ms. Seymour is something you do not come across often: an extremely alluring woman but very much a lady. The wholesome Reeve played off of her extremely well. The furious Robinson loses control of himself and has Richard beaten by thugs, causing him to lose credibility with his star forever. However, fate deals a cruel hand to the star-crossed lovers as, just when they have admitted their love for one another, Richard is abruptly returned to 1980, waking up in the same bed he was originally transported from. I won't give the story's very touching finale away, I will just say that the emotionally devastated Richard spends the final few minutes of the story attempting to return to 1912 and Elise. A few final comments. For fans of romance, fantasy and science fiction, Somewhere In Time will indeed be a special treat. (That the music is hauntingly beautiful only enhances the mood). It was pleasing to see Richard Matheson, author of such hard-edged tales as The Omega Man and The Shrinking Man, (to name but two), and who is seen as an astonished viewer during Elise McKenna's Grand Hotel performance, turn out such a powerful love story. I noticed only one glaring editing mistake, and that is an excellent accomplishment for a period story of this length. Near film's end, the heartbroken Richard lies listless and semi-comatose in a Grand Hotel guest room, pining for Elise, for a full week. When Arthur, (The gentleness of the lifelong hotel servant impressed me. I wish I could meet a few Arthur types at hotels I stay in!), finds him, the fact that he has had little food or water for days and is dangerously close to death is impressed upon us. However, when we see his face, he is clean-shaven and way too bright-eyed for a man under such a self-imposed ordeal! I hope that perhaps someday Christopher Reeve's health is such that he can once again co-star with the ever beautiful Jane Seymour. Mr. Reeve's physical limitations notwithstanding, I believe they would still make a terrific screen team.

I was rather young when I first saw this film; I found it mildly interesting and, being a science fiction fan, was drawn to the time travel aspect. I found it a bit slow and uneventful. As one grows older, priorities change, certain matters not considered when younger begin to take precedence. When I watch this film now, I find the time travel angle plays out differently for me; yes, it's still an interesting take on how to travel backwards in time, without machinery (as in "The Time Machine" - all versions). But, I realize now the entire focus of the story is on the mystical depiction of timeless love surfacing for the two main characters, played by Reeve and Seymour. It's a romance of the most old-fashioned kind, bridging decades, and enhanced by the whole premise of traveling further to achieve that romantic connection than most would ever dream of.

Obviously, the task for Reeve's character, that of making the connection, appears simply impossible. We've all read stories or seen movies about some character traveling over half a continent or even half the world to make such a connection. We root for them, of course - for them to beat the odds. The odds here are seemingly insurmountable: not traveling across land, but time itself. Well, he makes it; it's an incredible feat. And he pursues his dream, an exotic, to say the least, fantastic dream. She's worth it: Seymour is truly beautiful in this film, and gets more so with each viewing. Just her photo portrait in this story manages to capture a serene, mysterious type of beauty. She's touched with a melancholy sadness and Reeve is there to balm her wound. Writer Richard Matheson knows how to write good stories, romance included, and didn't need to fall back on contrived side plots to 'energize' the script, as is often the case nowadays. It's a straightforward, unfussy story, the kind they don't produce anymore.

Somewhere in Time is a movie any sensitive person with a heart will love, I guarantee you. From the opening at the theater to the unbelievably moving final scene, I have never seen a film so passionately and yet so innocently depict the power of absolute, all-encompassing, unconditional love.

The story is so simple, yet therein lies the beauty. Richard Collier, a man with no love in what otherwise seems like a nice enough life, becomes enchanted at the sight of Elise McKenna's painting and with only the power of his heart travels back to her time. Once there, he looks for Elise, and finds her. Elise is confused and does not immediately respond because of her manager W.F. Robinson, but she quickly returns Richard's love. I will not say anymore, other than that the ending made me feel so warm and yet made me want to cry. You will be hard pressed to find a movie lighter on plot, and there are many questions left unanswered, but that's perfect because Somewhere in Time is very surreal, and dreamlike even. The emphasis is not on watching events, but on simply feeling love, and this is as close as anyone has ever come to making a movie out of pure emotion.

Jane Seymour looks radiant while on screen but this is Christopher Reeve's movie. Reeve, after amazing everyone with his talent, good looks, and charisma in one of the biggest blockbusters ever, could have become one of Hollywood's all-time great leading men. Instead, a series of horrible decisions about what roles to take and not take made it so that he had to do TV movies to pay the bills by the late 1980s. To this day, to 99% of the public he is the paralyzed Superman and nothing more. But this is the one movie that shows what should have been. He very convincingly depicts Richard first as goofy kid, then as empty older man, then as someone simply awestruck by love and determined to let nothing stop him from getting the breathtaking Elise. Then, in the final scenes, he portrays his anguish so remarkably it is wrenching to watch.

Also deserving of special mention is Christopher Plummer, who seems to be an extraordinary actor on the basis of the two films I've seen him in (the other is The Insider). A lesser actor would have made Robinson into a mustache-twirling villain, and brought the whole production down to the level of a soap opera. Plummer, however, with his nuanced performance, makes us hate Robinson, but also makes us his feel his pain. Through his subtle mannerisms, we see that Robinson himself deeply longs for Elise's love, but has probably never been loved and never will be loved by anybody. We thus realize how incredibly lucky Richard is. I personally saw Robinson as perhaps someone whose father never loved him and whose mother died when he was very young, and he has spent his whole life wanting to truly take care of someone like Elise but it is as if he has been rendered incapable. He is still contemptible for the things he does to Richard, but he is also a tragic figure, and the script has nothing to do with that-it's all Christopher Plummer.

John Barry's score is also among the most enchanting in movie history, in my opinion. I have never heard a score which so wonderfully conjured up feelings of timeless love. Jeannot Szwarc may not be a well known or otherwise accomplished director, but he does this one perfectly. This movie in the wrong hands could so easily come across as corny and trite, but instead it is such an absorbing masterpiece. Every element in this movie is just perfect, and it should be universally considered one of the greatest love stories of all time (if not the greatest, like I think it is).

As it is most people have never heard of it, but it is nice to know that a small devoted following gives it the recognition it deserves. I hope it continues to win people's hearts for generations to come.

For us hopeless romantics, this kind of love story gives us the feeling that our own soulmate might have lived in another time instead of our own. It is a pleasant little fantasy to get lost in for a couple of hours anyway. For someone who analyzes the small details in movies like myself, the story has many hidden twists and turns to figure out. For example, when you consider that Elise Mckenna was 85 years old when she died in 1972, why was Richard Collier a young man in college? Was he the reincarnation of the Richard she had loved 60 years earlier in 1912? Did Richard's time-traveling professor have some connection to Elise? Why did Elise's manager warn Elise of Richard's coming? If you get too concerned with these details then you miss the overall message of the film...true love never dies and true love is worth dying for.

I feel as though many Michiganders, like myself, have a unique relationship with Somewhere in Time. It is one of the few movies where I am completely familiar with the location it was shot, and the entire movie just makes me think of the tourist attraction that is Mackinac Island (which I have visited many times.) This film is extremely popular up there and you can find copies for sale, along with memorabilia from the shooting, all around the island. It is a place that is a throwback to another time, and at least the exterior of the Grand Hotel still looks strikingly similar today to how it looked when they filmed this 40+ years ago. In fact, the part of the movie that is most jarring are the shots where they actually show a car driving up to the Grand Hotel, since motorized vehicles are prohibited on Mackinac Island. I wonder if this is how people who live in cities like New York, L.A., and San Francisco feel when their hometowns show up in so many movies.

Anyways, let's get to the actual content of Somewhere in Time, aside from its location. There is a power to the romance in this film. It has a truly magical quality as it seems to embrace the idea of two people being made for each other and destined to be together. The premise of them meeting across time is kind of crazy, and I'm not even sure what motivates the main character so strongly, but I think you have to let go of the critical part of your brain to appreciate the magic of this story. There is virtually no time spent exploring the mechanism that is at play, because that isn't the important part of the plot. Personally, I kind of wish the movie involved more time travel, and actually had our main character bouncing back and forth many times. I think that's simply because I'm more intrigued by the genre of time-travel, than I am by romantic dramas. The way it is presented in the film feels somewhat rushed and it never takes full advantage of an interesting premise.

Christopher Reeve isn't bad in the lead role. He has good range and seems to fit in reasonably well in both time periods. I found his performance at the end of the movie to be particularly powerful. He also has some nice chemistry with Jane Seymour. She is a great actress to play a love interest in this type of movie, because she does possess a timeless beauty. Her big speech on stage is delivered so brilliantly that I felt even someone who was struggling to enjoy this movie would have to buy in to some degree, because of her performance. I did struggle a bit with Christopher Plummer's character, as he seems to exist merely as a plot construction to create conflict. The film teases that there might be more to this character, but nothing ever comes of that. I will say that the ending of Somewhere in Time was a struggle for me. It is well done, but not exactly how I hoped it would resolve. I am certainly engaged by the plot, though, and I will gladly watch it again in the future.