“From Time to Time is
a 2009 British fantasy drama film directed
by Julian Fellowes starring Maggie
Smith, Timothy Spall, Carice
van Houten, Alex Etel, Eliza
Bennett, Elisabeth Dermot-Walsh, Dominic
West, Hugh Bonneville, and Pauline
Collins. It was adapted from Lucy
M. Boston's children's novel The
Chimneys of Green Knowe (1958). The film was shot in Athelhampton
Hall, Dorset.
“Near the end of World
War II, teen-aged Tolly (Alex Etel) spends Christmas at his grandmother's large
country estate, Green Knowe. Tolly's soldier father has been
reported missing in action while his mother remains
in London awaiting more information. His grandmother, Mrs. Oldknow (Maggie
Smith), disapproved of her son's marriage, considering his wife a commoner.
Mrs. Oldknow is financially strapped and faced with selling Green Knowe.
“On Tolly's first night at
Green Knowe, he sees and hears a ghostly young girl and adolescent boy. Soon
after, he discovers that he magically time
travels between the present and the early 19th century in the
old manor
house. Certain people in that time period can see and communicate with him,
while he remains invisible to others. Susan, the blind daughter of Lord Thomas
Oldknow, is the ghostly figure that Tolly first saw. She can speak to Tolly
both in her time and his. He learns that his grandmother also sees the
ancestral ghosts. Susan leads him on an adventure that unlocks family secrets
laid buried for generations. Exciting events include a terrible fire, a tale of
stolen jewels, and threats of a servant being sold into a press gang.
“Although the lost treasure
is eventually found and Green Knowe is saved, Tolly's father is a casualty of
the war. Mrs. Oldknow finally welcomes Tolly's mother into the family. Tolly is
comforted when his father's ghost appears, assuring him everything will be all
right.” – Wikipedia.
From Time to Time (2009) |
Full Movie | Hugh Bonneville | Timothy Spall | Maggie Smith - YouTube
I am sure that this movie
was thrown up in my YouTube suggestions list because I recently watched Present
Laughter (1981), a hilarious Noel Coward play in which Julian Fellows
played a part. Julian Fellowes, one year after directing From Time to Time,
went on to be the writer and director of Downton Abbey, also starring
Maggie Smith. It also features Timothy Spall, most widely known as Peter
Pettigrew (Wormtail) in the Harry Potter movies, but before that as Dr.
Polidori in Gothic.
But before the
recommendation I had been interested in the film since at least the beginning
of this blog. It was on my Amazon wish list before that, my interest having
been piqued because it was an adaptation of one of L. M. Boston’s Green
Knowe books, which I had been reading since middle school. At the time I
put it on the list there was no DVD for this region and no presence on YouTube.
Now there are both. I enjoyed it so much I shall probably buy the DVD. YouTube
even has the 1986 BBC adaptation of the same book, called The Children of
Green Knowe. I shall probably watch it in time, if not today.
In a related note of films
adapted from classic British children’s fantasy books, YouTube also has (at
last) a proper copy of Tom’s Midnight Garden (1999), with features a
supporting role by Joan Plowright. No proper Region 1 DVD release, though.
Toms Midnight Garden 1999
1080p - YouTube
No comments:
Post a Comment