MAJOR SPOILER WARNING
I can't add much to Bob's earlier comment: this is a little gem of film: plus points are the strong atmosphere (helped along by classical mood music) and comic characterisation (Bill Paterson's mad scientist and Charles Dance's pompous publicity-seeking scientist). There are nice pastiches of silent movie footage and high-class costume drama (the latter reminiscent of the archaeological dig in A Month in the Country). However, fans of time travel stories may feel cheated by the plot. Three men get into the time machine to go back to the Stone Age investigate the finding of three skeletons in and around an anomalous metal structure. See what's coming? The supposed twist, then, is so blindingly obvious that the film's characters would have to be stupid not to anticipate it - maybe the excruciating inevitability is the point?
I can't add much to Bob's earlier comment: this is a little gem of film: plus points are the strong atmosphere (helped along by classical mood music) and comic characterisation (Bill Paterson's mad scientist and Charles Dance's pompous publicity-seeking scientist). There are nice pastiches of silent movie footage and high-class costume drama (the latter reminiscent of the archaeological dig in A Month in the Country). However, fans of time travel stories may feel cheated by the plot. Three men get into the time machine to go back to the Stone Age investigate the finding of three skeletons in and around an anomalous metal structure. See what's coming? The supposed twist, then, is so blindingly obvious that the film's characters would have to be stupid not to anticipate it - maybe the excruciating inevitability is the point?