View source for From Time to Time (film)



{{Use British English|date=August 2012}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2010}}
{{Infobox film
| name = From Time to Time
| image = From Time to Time.jpg
| caption = Official poster
| director = [[Julian Fellowes]]
| writer = [[Julian Fellowes]]
| based_on       = {{Based on|''The Chimneys of Green Knowe''|[[Lucy M. Boston]]}}
| starring = [[Maggie Smith]]<br>[[Timothy Spall]]<br>[[Carice van Houten]]<br>[[Alex Etel]]<br>[[Eliza Bennett]]<br>[[Hugh Bonneville]]
| music = [[Ilan Eshkeri]]
| cinematography = Alan Almond
| editing = John Wilson
| studio = [[Ealing Studios]]
| distributor = Fragile Films 
| released = {{Film date|2009|10|15|df=y|[[BFI London Film Festival|BFI London]]|2010|9|24|United Kingdom}}
| runtime = 92 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| gross = $159,640<ref>{{cite web |title=From Time to Time |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1031241/credits/ |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref>
}}
'''''From Time to Time''''' is a 2009 British [[fantasy film|fantasy]] [[drama film]] directed by [[Julian Fellowes]] starring [[Maggie Smith]], [[Timothy Spall]], [[Carice van Houten]], [[Alex Etel]], [[Eliza Bennett]], [[Elisabeth Dermot-Walsh]], [[Dominic West]], [[Hugh Bonneville]], and [[Pauline Collins]].  It was adapted from [[Lucy M. Boston]]'s children's novel ''[[Green Knowe|The Chimneys of Green Knowe]]'' (1958).  The film was shot in [[Athelhampton|Athelhampton Hall]], [[Dorset]].

==Plot==
 <!-- Per WP:FILMPLOT, plot summary should be between 400 to 700 words. -->                     
Near the end of [[Second World War|World War II]], teenager Tolly gets picked up at the rail station by Mr. Boggis. When he starts to make mention of the boy's soldier father David, Tolly quickly points he has only been reported [[missing in action]] and not confirmed dead. 

Tolly has taken the train from Manchester to spend Christmas at his grandmother's large country estate in Cambridgeshire, [[Green Knowe]]. Tolly's mother has gone to London awaiting more information about David. His grandmother, Mrs. Oldknow, disapproved of her son's marriage and once, out of anger, wrote a meanly worded letter viewing his wife as a commoner. She regrets having written the letter, as she admits she does not know her well.

Mrs. Oldknow tells Tolly she is financially strapped, so is faced with possibly selling Green Knowe. He is adamant she not sell. She tells him about Mariah van Raymer, Thomas Oldknow's wife, who had almost brought them to ruin in the 1800s with her gambling and extravagant spending.

On Tolly's first night at Green Knowe, his grandmother tells Tolly about their ancestors. They are descended from Thomas and Mariah's eldest, a boy, Seftan. In the evening he sees and hears a ghostly young girl. His grandmother confirms it must have been Susan, the blind daughter of Lord Thomas Oldknow. 

The next day, as he is climbing a tree, he hears a girl and an adolescent boy giggling and finds an old spur hidden in a hollow. His grandmother recognises it as belonging to Seftan. Butler John Caxton, wary of the African boy Jacob that Captain Oldknow brought home as a companion, as he had stowed away on his ship to avoid being sold at auction.

Soon after, Tolly discovers that he magically [[time travel]]s between the present and the early 19th century in the old [[manor house]]. Certain people in that time can see and communicate with him, while he remains invisible to others. 
 
Susan can speak to Tolly both in her time and his. He learns that his grandmother also sees the ancestral ghosts. Susan leads him on an adventure that unlocks family secrets buried for generations. Exciting events include a terrible fire, a tale of stolen jewels, and threats of the servant Fred being sold into a [[Impressment|press gang]].

The lost treasure is eventually found by Tolly, with help from Susan. She also confirms it was John who was responsible for the fire, who likely perished in the fire. So, Green Knowe is saved, but Tolly's father is a casualty of the war. Mrs. Oldknow finally welcomes Tolly's mother into the family. Tolly is comforted when his father's ghost appears, assuring him everything will be all right.

==Cast==
<!--- [[MOS:FILMCAST]] [[WP:NOTDATABASE]] - cast and order per Main Cast opening credits, roles per closing credits scroll --->
{{Cast listing|
* [[Maggie Smith]] as Mrs. Oldknow
* [[Timothy Spall]] as Boggis
* [[Carice van Houten]] as Maria Oldknow
* [[Alex Etel]] as Tolly
* [[Pauline Collins]] as Mrs. Tweedie
* [[Harriet Walter]] as Lady Gresham
* [[Eliza Hope Bennett]] as Susan
* [[Kwayedza Kureya]] as Jacob
* [[Douglas Booth]] as Sefton Oldknow
* [[Hugh Bonneville]] as Captain Oldknow
* [[Dominic West]] as Caxton
* [[Allen Leech|Allen Leech]] as Fred Boggis
}}

==Reception==
{{RT prose|{{RT data|score}}|{{RT data|average}}|{{RT data|count}}||ref=yes|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}} Tom Huddleston of ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' described the film as "an emotionally wise but logically skewed children's tale", the logical inconsistencies of which "largely restricts the film's appeal to bookish pre-teens".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Huddlestone |first=Tom |title=From Time To Time |magazine=[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]] |edition=New York |date=2009-10-20 |url=http://www.timeout.com/us/film/from-time-to-time |access-date=2013-08-25 |archive-date=6 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006074449/http://www.timeout.com/us/film/from-time-to-time |url-status=dead}}</ref> Henry Fitzherbert of the ''[[Daily Express]]'' praised the actors' performances, particularly Smith's, and noted that it "casts a magical spell by the touching conclusion".<ref>{{cite news |first=Henry |last=Fitzherbert |title=From Time To Time ''film review and trailer'' |work=[[Daily Express]] |date=2010-10-01 |url=https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/202698/From-Time-To-Time-film-review-and-trailer |access-date=2024-09-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205001009/https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/202698/From-Time-To-Time-film-review-and-trailer |archive-date=2023-12-05 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title}}

{{Julian Fellowes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:From Time To Time}}
[[Category:2009 films]]
[[Category:2009 fantasy films]]
[[Category:2009 English-language films]]
[[Category:2000s fantasy adventure films]]
[[Category:2009 adventure films]]
[[Category:2000s ghost films]]
[[Category:British children's fantasy films]]
[[Category:British ghost films]]
[[Category:Ealing Studios films]]
[[Category:Films about children]]
[[Category:2000s films about time travel]]
[[Category:Films based on British novels]]
[[Category:Films based on children's books]]
[[Category:Films directed by Julian Fellowes]]
[[Category:Films scored by Ilan Eshkeri]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1800s]]
[[Category:Films set in 1944]]
[[Category:Films set in England]]
[[Category:Films shot in England]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Julian Fellowes]]
[[Category:2009 British films]]
[[Category:English-language fantasy adventure films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=From Time to Time (film)|access_date=2026-03-03}}