Time After Time (1979)

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Time After Time (1979)

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It's H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) versus Jack the Ripper (David Warner) in the fanciful Time After Time—and, per the film's title, the chase extends from the 19th century to the 20th. Wells has built a time machine in his cellar, which the Ripper uses as a means of escape. Both men find themselves in 20th- century San Francisco, and, after an amusing period of adjustment, both make themselves at home. The plot takes a dark turn when the Ripper, disappointed that Wells' dreams of a Utopian future have not come to fruition, resumes his murderous activities. The suspenseful climax finds Wells and the Ripper in a standoff, with Wells' modern lady friend, kooky bank teller Mary Steenburgen, the unwilling center of attention.
Nicholas Meyer's directorial debut, Time After Time, manages to mix H.G. Wells, Jack the Ripper, time travel, and women's liberation. It also happens to be wonderfully entertaining. Malcolm McDowell invests Wells with a foppish intelligence that anyone who is unfamiliar with his work apart from A Clockwork Orange may be surprised by. If the film had been made 20 years later it would not be difficult to imagine Hugh Grant in the role. By skillfully establishing his character in the opening 20 minutes, the audience can easily accept how quickly Wells acclimates himself to the modern world. Sure, the fish-out-of-water jokes are there, and they are funny, but they are not the heart of the picture. That most certainly is Mary Steenburgen's bank teller, Amy Robbins. Wells falls for her because she espouses a post-hippie feminist belief system that is right in line with his utopian writings. That the film's tension doesn't dissipate as their love blossoms displays the skill of the actors and the tightness of the screenplay. Containing much of the same charm as Meyer's screenplay for The Seven-Percent Solution (which combined Sherlock Homes and Sigmund Freud with skill, humor, and tension), Time After Time is a good thriller and an engaging love story told with solid, old-fashioned storytelling technique.

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Time After Time (1979)

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Time After Time (1979)

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Time After Time (1979)

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Time After Time (1979)

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