The Child in Time (2017)

The life of a children's book author is turned upside down when his daughter goes missing.

Director:

Julian Farino

Writers:

Ian McEwan (based on the novel by), Stephen Butchard

Stars:

Benedict Cumberbatch, Kelly Macdonald, Stephen Campbell Moore

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Benedict Cumberbatch	...	Stephen Lewis
Kelly Macdonald	...	Julie
Stephen Campbell Moore	...	Charles
Saskia Reeves	...	Thelma
Andrea Hall	...	Policewoman
Jim Creighton	...	Male Neighbour
Beatrice White	...	Kate
Rosa-Marie Lewis	...	Shop Assistant
Franc Ashman	...	Lydia Webb
Anna Madeley	...	Rachel Murray
John Hopkins	...	Home Secretary
Elliot Levey	...	Prime Minister
Lucy Liemann	...	Joanna Buckley
Natasha Brown	...	Stephen's Younger Mum
Laurence Spellman	...	Greg Ellis

Storyline

Children's author Stephen Lewis is shopping with 4-year old daughter Kate when she suddenly disappears. Failure to find her puts a strain on his marriage, his wife Julie leaving to live in a seaside village, though Stephen regularly visits her. Stephen continues to write but is asked by the prime minister to check on his best friend Charles Dark, who has resigned his cabinet membership to live in an isolated woodland retreat with his wife Thelma. Stephen is perturbed by Charles' apparent regression to childhood, reminding him of his own loss and, returning to London, erroneously believes that another little girl is Kate. Three years after the disappearance Thelma asks Stephen, still keeping Kate's room for her, for help with the increasingly disturbed Charles, leading to a shocking discovery though a later phone call from Julie provides a new beginning for them both.

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Plot Keywords:

loss of daughter | grief | missing daughter | school | male tears | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

British Broadcasting Corporation [United Kingdom]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 April 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Child in Time

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Masterpiece, SunnyMarch

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

For this film, Benedict Cumberbatch wore clothes of his own wardrobe.

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Quotes

Julie: How certain are you that she's alive?
Stephen Lewis: I know that if she wasn't, I'd feel it.

User Reviews

disjointed

Stephen Lewis (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a children's book author whose life is devastate when he loses his daughter in a grocery store. His life with wife Julie (Kelly Macdonald) cracks apart and she moves to a remote country home. His friend Charles is mentally deteriorating.

The jumps in time leaves the story disjointed in its telling. The Prime Minister confused me. I don't know why the story becomes political for a second. Even Charles' connection and his illness confused me. There is one big devastating section in which Stephen mistakes another child for his own. That scene strikes right into the heart. I usually like Kelly Macdonald but she seems to be underused. Benedict is doing good work but the overall sense is a disjointed story flow. This is based on a book and the adaptation is probably too scattered.