Hi Steven,
I quite enjoyed From Time to Time. I read the various reviews on imdb and amazon, and must say the criticisms lodged by the movie reviewers weren't issues that bothered me at all.
I haven't read the book and my personal viewpoint is the book is the book, and the movie is usually something else so expecting a movie based on a book not to follow the book faithfully lets me enjoy both even if I have read the book.
Other complaints were that the set and cast were just recycled from Downton Abbey and this movie wasn't "Downton Abbey" - again I must be just more easy going in general than the critical review critics.
Lastly the complaint that the movie wasn't scary for a ghost story actually serves as a feature for me; I don't find recreational quality in fear, and prefer non-scary movies as a general rule, so I was actually glad that it wasn't spooky-scary.
The film focuses on the child character (12 or 13 year old boy) and his time-slip interaction with similarly aged children characters in the past. It would be a "family movie" for children who aren't easily upset by ghosts etc. While I don't have any philosophical objections to non-family-movie type movies, I've become accustomed to "family movies" and don't put them in the yuk-bucket by default, so that aspect suited me just fine too.
Cinematography was beautiful as was the set and the contrast between wartime winter with the estate in hard times, and 100 years ago spring and summer with the estate in full upkeep.
Acting quality was good enough for my tastes, i'm very easy going on that aspect generally although I detest Nicole Kidman's acting no matter what the film, yet i generally enjoy Kevin Costner despite his stilted wooden delivery. The young man in the grandson role wasn't terribly emotive and expressive but then again how many 13 year old boys are, let alone in that era under those circumstances (miltary father missing in action, mother looked down upon by her inlaws, social strata tensions between child and grandmother, grief and fear for his father, missing his mother, and British to boot stiff upper lip and all that along). My favorite character would have been the housekeeper and I loved the way she dodged Tolly's probing questions and needled the grandmother's self-serving denial of her prejudices.
Lastly I was fascinated by the interconnecting chimneys bit as well as the chimney's having ladders! Architectural curiousity on my part I suppose but that technical bit that I was hithertofore unaware of in those old huge homes was very interesting to me.
Anyone else want to chime in ? perhaps comment on the book vs. movie, or the book in general?
Q
