From Time to Time (film)

From Time to Time is a 2009 British 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 The Chimneys of Green Knowe (1958). The film was shot in Athelhampton Hall, Dorset.

Plot
Near the end of World War II, teenage Tolly (Alex Etel) spends Christmas at his grandmother's large country estate, Green Knowe. Tolly's soldier father has been reported missing in action while his mother remains in London awaiting more information. His grandmother, Mrs. Oldknow (Maggie Smith), disapproved of her son's marriage, considering his wife a commoner. Mrs. Oldknow is financially strapped and faced with selling Green Knowe.

On Tolly's first night at Green Knowe, he sees and hears a ghostly young girl and an adolescent boy. Soon after, he discovers that he magically time travels 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, the blind daughter of Lord Thomas Oldknow, is the ghostly figure that Tolly first saw. She 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 a servant being sold into a press gang.

Although the lost treasure is eventually found and Green Knowe is saved, 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.

Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 43% fresh rating based on reviews from seven critics and a rating average of 5.9 out of 10. Tom Huddleston of 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". 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".