Somewhere in Time (1980) Review

“Please, don't leave. You have no idea how far I've come to be with you.” 

     People ask me what my most watched film is, well it will have to be Somewhere in Time. From my childhood into adulthood, I watched it almost every day, so naturally I had to replace my VHS and dvd copies quite a few times.  There are only some films that have a certain artistic excellence that it makes you amazed how they could ever capture it on film. Casablanca, Citizen Cane, Ben Hur, The Godfather, 2001 Space Odyssey, Doctor Zhivago, and Amadeus. Somewhere in Time is not a box-office blockbuster, but it is the finest romance film to ever be made. I have never seen a film so passionately and yet so innocently depict the power of absolute, all-encompassing, unconditional love like this film has shown.  Somewhere in Time mainly focuses primarily on love unlike most romantic films.
     The story is so simple, yet therein sets the beauty. An example being Titanic, there’s a good love story there, but focusing mainly on the anticipation of the ship sinking steals the show. Another reason that helps make this film very romantic is its innocence. Nothing major in the background going on like a war or sinking ship, just a man loving a woman.  It’s the kind of love that awakens the soul and makes one reach for more that creates a fire within our hearts and brings us to peace.  The film starts off with a young playwright by the name of Richard Collier being approached by an elderly woman. She places an antique pocket watch in his hand and pleads him to “come back” to her. 8 years later he goes to the grand hotel to clear his mind of all writer’s block. He discovers a portrait of a beautiful young woman and he is simply transfixed by her. He finds out that the portrait is of Elise McKenna, the same woman who gave him the pocket watch who afterwards died that very evening. He then travels back in time to the year 1912 using self-hypnosis. He finds her and thus begins the romance.
   Christopher Reeve does a spectacular portrayal of Richard. His acting is phenomenal in this film; he acts with such passion and with great earnestness. People only remember Reeve as superman and nothing more, but he was so much more than just superman. He could play anything. This film is the proof that. He could play a leading man, a supporting character, an aviator, a journalist, a priest, or a hopeless romantic. His acting is breathtaking and his chemistry with the beautiful Jane Seymour is amazing.
    John Barry's score is the most captivating ever in movie history. I have never heard a score that so astonishingly summoned up feelings of everlasting love. The music can even be called another character in the film; it’s almost crucial to the story. Although director Jeannot Szwarc may not be a well known or an otherwise accomplished director he does succeed in evoking a romantic and dreamlike atmosphere. Everyone must see this film at least twice in his or her life.

5 out of 5