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From Time to Time More at IMDbPro »

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29 out of 34 people found the following review useful:

A Lovely Film From Another Time....

Author: Tyger-Flynn
9 December 2010

This is a film that would easily have been made 40 years ago - that it was made now is remarkable. I never read the book upon which it was based so I came to it on its own merits - and it stood more than just well. This is a film to be savored like a fine wine - it has rich nuances. There is so much that is good about it - from writing and acting to photography and set design.

It is an atmospheric film. Beautifully captured - the two time periods are both portrayed in evocative detail. The mood for 1941 feels iconic but real - like it would have been - in memory - quiet, all in muted wintry grays with the detail of the house and its rooms presented to the eye like paintings. By contrast, 1811 has a warm and vivid lushness like a dream. Fascinating choices.

Beautifully acted - of exceptional note is Maggie Smith. Hugh Bonneville gives a wonderful performance as Captain Oldknow. I found the marital relationship between the Captain and his foreign wife, as acted by Hugh Bonneville and Carice van Houten, as his wife Maria, intriguing. Made me wonder about how that relationship was portrayed in the book. Pauline Collins and Timothy Spall and Dominic West all excellent, as are the actors playing the children. Well done all round.

This film made me curious about the book. In fact, I will likely read the book now.

29 out of 34 people found the following review useful:

Fine storytelling and highly entertaining

Author: MovieSonic from United Kingdom
3 December 2010

I put off watching this film for a long time because of the 6/10 IMDb rating and because it seems like one of those films you 'need to be in the mood for'.

Well, it is but when you are in the mood for a good story then watch this film because the overall result is certainly worth it. Technically and visually the film is successful (i.e. cinematography, location, costumes etc.) but it is the story itself that kept me interested. I am not sure if the success of the film is owed to the book it was adapted from or if the script added anything but I was certainly impressed.

The funny and tragic moments never felt forced or embellished and the actors were extremely committed and convincing.

I am not a viewer who knows too much about the film making process so the most I can comment on really is that whilst the ending was rather predictable I was happy I had watched the film and would highly recommend it to others.

I hope the IMDb rating increases as it easily deserves 8/10

16 out of 19 people found the following review useful:

Captivating story about interwoven time

Author: Gordon-11 from Hong Kong
26 December 2010

This film is about a young boy who goes to stay with his grandmother's stately home during the Second World War. He finds the house's secret ability to transport him back in time.

"From Time to Time" successfully weaves together past and present events in a logical manner. Many time travel stories have major plot loopholes, but "From Time to Time" has a logical plot that even when people from present interacts with people in the past and alter events from the past. I particularly like the fact that bits of stories weave together, such as the "miracle light" and the jewels, so everything in the film happens for a reason. I enjoyed watching "From Time to Time" a lot.

17 out of 22 people found the following review useful:

Enchanting film

Author: Matthew Hopkiins from United Kingdom
27 December 2010

I caught this entirely by chance on TV here in the UK on Boxing Day, and was transfixed from start to finish.

Whilst I've never read the book, I do recall an earlier version of this on TV from back in the 80's, but I doubt if there could be a more definitive version than this, with a stellar cast, and superb cinematography, my only question is how such a good film can emerge with a whimper rather than a bang.

Of course I appreciate that a film like this isn't remotely 'trendy', but the art of good story telling never goes out of fashion.

No surprise to see that Julian Fellowes was behind this, it had much of the same grandeur (and cast members!) that were to be found in his huge TV success of 2010 'Downtown Abbey' I cannot recommend this film highly enough, for lovers of ghost stories, and historical films in general, the two odd hours whizz by.

11 out of 11 people found the following review useful:

Lovely and moving film, with a great cast

Author: BlueEyes72 from United Kingdom
9 March 2012

This film was directed by Julian Fellowes, who since making it, has made the hugely successful Downton Abbey TV series. Like that series, this film stars Maggie Smith and Hugh Bonneville, and they are joined by, amongst others, Dominic West, Pauline Collins and Timothy Spall.

Set in 1940s England, 13 year old Tolly (Alex Etel) is sent to stay with his grandmother (Maggie Smith) at her country home, which she fears she will have to sell due to money problems. Tolly's father is fighting in WWII, and is missing in action. As his grandmother tells him about the history of the house, and Tolly's ancestors, he finds that he is able to travel back in time to 1805 and discover secrets about his family's past, which still resonate today… This film is adapted from Lucy M Boston's book 'The Chimneys of Green Knowe'. I have not read the book, so cannot compare the two, but I did really enjoy the film. Maggie Smith is as brilliant as ever, as the elderly lady who realises that she may have lost her beloved son, and may also have to give up her lifelong home. Alex Etel does a fine job as Tolly, and credit should also be given to the supporting cast, especially Pauline Collins and Timothy Spall, as two members of the staff at the house. Dominic West is great (as ever), although here he plays a particularly unpleasant character – I personally prefer to see him in nicer roles! There is a parallel storyline; the story from 1805 – which centres around Tolly's ancestors, the kindly Captain Oldknow (Hugh Bonneville) and his selfish wife Maria (Carice van Houten) and their children Sefton; a spoiled, selfish young man (Douglas Booth) and Susan, a kindly, blind girl (Eliza Bennett). Into their lives comes Jacob (Kwayedza Kureya), a former slave who escapes from captivity with the help of Captain Oldknow and joins the household as a companion for Susan, much to the chagrin of Sefton. The second storyline is of course set in 1940s, with Tolly and his grandmother worrying about what has become of Tolly's father (and we do find out), while at the same time getting to know and understand each other.

I thought the film was incredibly well acted, and both story lines were very touching. So much so, that I ended up in tears at the end, which is not something that happens very often when I watch a film. This was just a lovely film, well acted, well told, and very emotive. Highly recommended to all fans of period drama.

14 out of 18 people found the following review useful:

Another Ghost story but lovely not scary.

Author: nav swamey from India
28 November 2010

"The Chimneys of Green Knowe" was very good book and adaptation of this book as movie was very wise decision,As the movie make justice with the book.I have seen many movies based on novels but this one is really amazing and honest to book.

The cinematography is beautiful,the acting is superb especially Maggie Smith(Linnet),Eliza Bennett(Susan) and Alex Etel(Tolly) have done a great job.Movie is a little slow in start but as soon it reaches in the middle you are bound to complete it.The director gave this movie a soft treatment.The music is not so well but it is not bad at all.

Finally If you are the fan of "The Green Knowe series" or just want to see a movie in your weekend go borrow the DVD as this a rare movie.

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:

A lovely time travel film

Author: jk-332 from United States
21 April 2012

I hadn't heard a thing about this movie when it came out, but seeing Maggie Smith and Dominic West and Hugh Bonneville in the cast, I had to give it a try. I loved time travel books a lot when I was young and I wish I'd known about the book series this comes from, because it would've been perfect for me. I loved the look and the tone of the movie, with just enough adventure and mysteries to solve to keep me riveted. Yes, the tone is a bit somber at times, and I wasn't crazy about Alex Etel's performance as Tolly (he's fairly wooden), but it really moves well and there are enough other characters to focus on, so overall, I quite enjoyed it. Maggie Smith isn't as fun as she is on Downton Abbey, but few things are that amusing, after all. Dominic West, Pauline Collins, Hugh Bonneville, Timothy Spall and Harriet Walter are wonderful in smaller roles, while Eliza Bennett and Kwayedza Kureya, both new to me, are charming as the children in the Regency era. I also have to say that I loved the fashion in the past, with both Carice van Houten and Douglas Booth looking especially dishy in those clothes. I would say this is definitely a children's movie, but also good for adults who are children at heart (like me).

9 out of 14 people found the following review useful:

Enjoyable film , but not faithful to the book.

Author: from United Kingdom
26 December 2010

Of all the things which irritate me when watching films of books which I have read the one which irritates me most is the script writer who thinks s/he can improve on the original. Of course a very long book has to lose characters and sub-plots, but "The Chimneys of Green Knowe" is not a long book, and for every character lost Julian Fellowes has invented a new one.

I have great respect for Julian Fellowes as an original screen writer, but the arrogance with which he has sought to 'improve' on Lucy Boston's novel really sets my teeth on edge. I suspect that someone who has never read the original will thoroughly enjoy this film, but the book is much better and much more subtle in both the relationships between the characters and the nature of the 'ghosts' which Julian Fellowes has made so much more conventional than Lucy Boston's unusual take on the nature of time and mutability.

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

Good story, bad movie.

Author: Jacob Ford
18 April 2013

From Time to Time was released in 2009, and is a very charming children's story. As I was watching this movie I found myself loving the story but disliking the movie. Julian Fellowes, Director and Writer of this picture who has won an Oscar for his writing in 2001′s Gosford Park, adapted the screenplay from Lucy M. Boston's novel The Chimneys of Treasure.

Maggie Smith and Alex Etel are the stars of this film, along with supporting actors consisting of Hugh Bonneville, Dominick West, and Timothy Spall. Maggie Smith, as always, did an exceptional job with her role; it wasn't necessarily realistically portrayed throughout, which I personally prefer in any film genre, but was nonetheless believable with the movie-type she was in. Maggie Smith just always seems to have a real grasp on her part, and how it should reflect the movie as a whole. Alex Etel carried the lead role of this film, and personally I don't know how this kid ever got into the acting industry. His lines are uncomfortably dry, with the only emotion that ever comes is when it is painfully clear that his director has told him to cry, laugh, etc., and even that is hard to watch without cringing or grimacing. Never once did I believe his character, or was taken into the world of the movie when he was on screen, which was sadly 90% of the film. I would have much preferred if the role had been given to some other actor such as Asa Butterfield, or some unknown child actor. Thankfully, Maggie Smith's consistent character, along with other believable appearances from Hugh Bonneville and especially Timothy Spall, were able to distract from this.

Julian Fellowes is a very good writer. It has been quite some time since I have last seen Gosford Park, but I do remember thinking that the dialogue was very good in his Oscar winning piece. I have also lately enjoyed the good writing of his in the BBC Television hit drama Downton Abbey. So I am unsure what went on here. The dialogue was very lousy, and the movie as a whole was very poorly concluded. This is the second of his only two attempts at directing, which was also rather bad. There were points where characters were put in a situation with lines that would be very urgent, but they would be very calm, which is clearly the fault of the director not of the actors. Or another example would be having a group of characters break into song simultaneously for just a few seconds, while meanwhile a great disaster is going on directly behind them. There were just many instances where it was clear the actors wanted to do something else, that they knew was better, and were probably right. Altogether, the writing, and especially the directing, was extremely poorly done, which made the movie difficult to watch. Which was a shame, because underneath of all of it what a really good story about a child learning about the lives of his ancestors, along with his own growth.

From Time to Time was a great disappointment to me not because I had really high hopes going into it, frankly I had never even heard of the film before, but because Mr. Fellowes took a really good story and made it into a rather "blah" movie. I wish I had been able to like this movie because of the story, but the way that it was put together was just too much of a distraction.

I give this movie a dissatisfied 5.2/10.

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

Pretty good, if a little generic...

Author: Rich Wright
17 March 2013

I've not seen Downton Abbey, so am unaware of how this rather stoic British drama with hints of the supernatural compares to director Julian Fellowes other creation. What I can tell you though, is that it is a professionally mounted film with a cast of well-known British thespians acting in parts that you know were made for them, like pieces in a jigsaw.

The society of the latter days of World War 2 is handsomely recreated, even if it is just relegated to one house. The X-Files style plot elements feel a bit half-baked, and sometimes it feels so dry you'll start craving for a glass of water. These are just minor quibbles, though. It all comes to a head with a series of revelations at the conclusion... Which may even make the weak-willed among you reach for your hankies.

Not this cat, though. I would never fall for something so corny *Frantically hides his copy of Braveheart* 6/10

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