Truly Dreadful Film

Excellent but underrated film

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

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.

Although there is "time traveling" elements in this movie, it is not a science fiction. It is more a ghost story like the movie "ghost".The time traveling element is mostly used to tell a story that happened in the past.The movie is a little slow at the beginning. Not everything make sense. For example, someone supposedly died inside the chimney. However, his body was not found; not even a skeleton.When the boy found the lost jewelry, his grandmother behaved in a completely idiotic manner as if possessed by greed.The makeup for the blind girl failed; she does not look blind.The subtitle can be turned on with the DVD player's control, but not via the DVD's main menu.

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.

I put off watching this film for a long time because of the 6/10 IMDb rating and because it seemed 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 experience is well worth it. Technically and visually the film is successful (i.e. cinematography, location, costumes etc.) but it was 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 the story was really engaging.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