“The real hotel is literally a time capsule... It makes sense why they would choose this hotel for a story about time travel.”
Somewhere in Time was a film that was released in 1980, directed by Jeannot Szwarc, written by Richard Matheson, and starring Christopher Reeve as Richard Collier as well as Jane Seymour as Elise McKenna. It is ultimately about a heartbroken playwright who becomes entirely obsessed with an old photograph of a beautiful stage actress from 1912... a fixation that leads him to use self-hypnosis to literally will himself back through time to find her. Once he actually makes it to the past, the two fall into an intense, whirlwind romance, but they have to constantly fight against her fiercely protective manager who is determined to keep them apart.
The reason I chose to re-watch this film is because recently, I chaperoned for one of my son’s field trips to none other than the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, where this film was primarily shot.
I’d seen the film years ago, of course, and the hotel in particular stood out as one of the biggest and most impressive hotels out there. The balcony itself is the longest in the world, and as soon as I turned on the film, I was impressed to see just how identical it was nearly 50 years ago as it is today. It makes sense why they would choose this hotel for a story about time travel because the real deal is literally a time capsule. It is on an island that bans motor vehicles, so you have to get there on a ferry and then you travel either by walking, riding bikes, or getting driven around by a horse carriage... exactly as you see in the movie.
Fun Fact - The Walking Escorts: The production was granted special permission to bring a few essential motorized vehicles onto the island to haul heavy camera equipment. However, the city enforced a strict rule: the trucks were absolutely not allowed to move any faster than a human could walk. To guarantee compliance, a crew member was legally required to walk directly in front of each vehicle at all times.
And all of the rooms Christopher Reeve walks into in the movie were rooms I did as well... other than the actual guest rooms, obviously. Same wallpaper, carpets, color schemes, and drapes. He ate in the same dining room I did and sat on the same croquet field I did. It was unreal experiencing that hotel in real life because it’s easily one of the most recognizable and memorable hotels and island experiences I’ve ever had... but how is it as a movie?
Honestly, I’ve always admired this film for its approach to time travel. Not only is this the most non-sci-fi time travel film that has ever existed, but it was really unique in its approach... saying our perception of time and reality is adjustable by meditation and sheer willpower. He just has to lie down and believe he’s back in time... and he is. I love that. I love that so much that I used the premise for a quick scene in my brothers’ and my movie Buck and Drake - Buck to the Future. It’s played off as more of a joke, but I’ve always loved that idea and it’s never really been done again since.
The romance is also very strong. It is said from Jane Seymour herself that on set, she and Christopher Reeve truly fell in love for real. What you see on screen... it was all real, and I do believe that. Though, narratively, if we were to be fully honest, Christopher Reeve’s character is insane and kinda stalkery to go through these lengths after getting obsessed with a picture of a woman. In fact, both his character and hers are relatively weak characters because once they are in each other’s lives, nothing else matters. Nothing. They aren’t sustainable people without the other person. I understand that that’s romantic, but... from a writing perspective, it’s often considered weak and underdeveloped character writing.
Also, I’m mixed on Jane Seymour’s controlling manager. I get the point of him. I get that he’s trying to control her every action because that’s good for business, but the man is literally a mustache-twirling villain. That’s what he looks like, that’s what he sounds like, and that’s what he acts like. I don’t think his character was all that necessary.
What I can’t avoid mentioning, however, is how this film is arguably Christopher Reeve’s most popular non-Superman role and film. I can’t think of many things he’s done in his career other than Superman, this, and the remake of Rear Window. His career eludes me, but people do know of this film.
Obviously, you don’t need to have the personal experience of the hotel to enjoy this movie, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t constantly pointing at the screen saying, “I know that, I was there!” about a hundred times, annoying everyone around me. I had forgotten how much the hotel and all the surrounding elements were used in the movie.
Unbiased / Technical Score: 41/50 (82%)
Biased / Entertainment Score: 43/50 (86%)
Total Combined Score: 84/100 (84% or 4/5 on Letterboxd)