Time After Time
The key central core to any quality science fiction movie or TV show is that of having a good, strong basic story, not a far out psychedelic collection of âwildly original ideasâ that only appeal to the hardcore, sci fi loving, saliva covered adult male virgin for whom a relationship with an appealing woman only resides in a galaxy far, far away. This especially applies to time travel stories, as of yet a concept that remains officially fictional but should involve something far more substantial than just having a protagonist bounce around from place to place. While weâve seen more than our fair share of quality time travel films, one of the best, most underrated, and most underseen examples remains this 1979 release from director Nicholas Meyer (best known for reviving the Star Trek franchise for all time with Wrath Of Khan). It daringly depicts two celebrated historical figures, one known (H.G. Wells) and one whose true identity has never been officially confirmed (Jack The Ripper) but whose exploits as a serial killer before anyone ever even coined the term earned him a place in eternal infamy within the annals of crime. From there, it theorizes what would indeed happen if Wells (who wrote one of his most famous books about time travel) had actually managed to invent a working time machine in 1893 Victorian London (complete with a power grid that harnessed its energy from rays of sunlight) with the intention to travel into the future and behold mankindâs advancements, only for The Ripper to intercept it first just as the police are getting too close. In the key role of Wells, we get Malcolm McDowell (for whom the Academy Awardsâ failure to even nominate him for Best Actor in the seminal A Clockwork Orange remains as big a mystery to this day as The Ripperâs identity), playing a character who is far more toned down than his maniacal Alex DeLarge but is no less intense with the passion that he brings to his performance. The script doesnât shy away from Wellsâ known atheist and Socialist tendencies, but rather revels in it as he openly discusses his views at a dinner party for some of his rich upper class friends where he also reveals the creation of the machine. One of the guests there is Dr. John Leslie Stevenson, (David Warner, if not The Greatest Character Actor Of All Time then one who will almost certainly be forever in the debate as to who is) who is Head Of Surgery at the local hospital and is first seen cornering a wayward prostitute (who thinks that he is just another wealthy client) before slicing her to pieces in an alleyway (although this being 1893 and five years after The Ripperâs real life run in 1888, it is possible that he is merely a copycat of which there were known to be quite a few). While at Wellsâ dinner, the two have a philosophical discussion over a game of chess (the most fascinating dynamic of the film) where Wells almost naively believes that mankind will better themselves intellectually and human society in the future will be a virtual utopia while The Ripper counters by stating that people at their core are nothing but savage beasts and that the law of the jungle and eternal fight for survival will go on no matter what advances in technology come about. Flash forward 90 years (the year the movie was made) to modern day San Francisco where with a special key that Wells has in his possession he is able to pursue The Ripper there and when they meet up, The Ripper leeringly tells him that he was right all along, showing him TV footage of wars, assassinations, and even football games to illustrate his point that not only is violence the only real constant in this world, but even moreso now than before (â90 years ago I was a freak. Here Iâm an amateur.â). Even more significant is the fact that Wells spends most of his time in 1979 completely disoriented and bumbling around the city while The Ripper seems to almost immediately fit in with the latest trends and fashions. Wells still insists on bringing The Ripper back to face justice (or trying to at least) and after the two of them become separated, he meets a sweet faced bank employee played by Mary Steenburgen who takes a shade of sympathy to him and eventually brings him back to stay at her place. This is where the heart of the story comes in, as Steenburgen (an actress who has had a long, fruitful career even as this remains her definitive role) and McDowell were not allowed to meet by director Meyer prior to filming their scenes so that their performances would be âfreshâ. What wound up happening instead was a passionate real life romance blossoming between the two along with a marriage that would last for ten years. Indeed, if there was ever a cinematic example of absolutely perfect chemistry between an actor and an actress onscreen then this is it. Steenburgen plays her character as a career minded, liberated woman (something that Wells delights in since womenâs liberation was one of the tenets of his utopia so at least he scores points there) who nonetheless becomes almost fragile and vulnerable when either she develops feelings for someone (as with Wells) or finds her own life threatened (as is the case when The Ripper comes calling). Either way, she comes off as being both sexy and adorable, thus making it a real delight to watch her and McDowell fall in love onscreen for real (even as her characterâs name is the same as Wellsâ real life wife as well). Meanwhile, The Ripper has started plowing his way through San Franâs red light district, deliberately picking out hookers who catch his eye (including Patti DâArbanville) and butchering them with the greatest of ease all while knowing that his ability to cover his tracks and blend in with the rest of this metropolis will keep him out of jail until whenever he decides to just hop into the machine and travel somewhere else (since it and other possessions of Wells are currently on display at the local museum in an exhibit dedicated to him). The problem lies with the aforementioned special key in Wellsâ possession that would allow him to track The Ripperâs whereabouts through time and space, something which The Ripper obviously cannot allow as he makes it clear to Wells that he WILL kill Steenburgen if Wells doesnât hand it over. This makes for the suspenseful second half of the movie, as Wells uses the machine to pinpoint The Ripperâs next murders and then goes to the police to try to explain how he has such knowledge of these future events without actually incriminating himself although he doesnât help his case any by telling the cops that he knows what he knows because he is a famous detective named Sherlock Holmes (having already overheard the iconic characterâs name being dropped as a well known detective) which only makes the cops roll their eyes at him as they too are all too familiar with the legendary characterâs movies and books (and is also ironic considering the currently running TV show Elementary, which features as its main character a modern day Sherlock Holmes in a world where Arthur Conan Doyle never existed). In the end, the film strikes pure gold with the Wells / Ripper philosophical disagreement (in which one would have to clearly say that The Ripper is correct) and also with the McDowell / Steenburgen romance, one that feels far more real than any other movie romance (because it was real) while still retaining more than enough humorous elements to keep any viewer entertained. For McDowell, this is just another affirmation that the early greatness of his role in Clockwork was no fluke. For Steenburgen, it proved that she can play realistic, down to earth female roles better than most anyone in the business. And for Warner, well, itâs just another day at the office for one of the best to ever get in front of the camera and play things as sinister as possible in order to keep the viewer watching. And just like with Back To The Future, Terminator, Time Bandits (also with Warner), Army Of Darkness and many many others, it continues to show that quality movies about the fantastical art of time travel are only as good as the human characters that happen to engage in it and the amazingly well told stories that occur thereinâŚ
10/10