Perfect Apart and Together: Bid Time Return

People who come to this blog occasionally will probably have heard me rave at least once about how much I love Somewhere in Time, the time travel romance starring Christopher Reeve and based off Richard Matheson's novel Bid Time Return. I finally got around to reading the book, after many viewings of the adaptation, in which Matheson wrote the screenplay. All I can say is - wow. I'm pretty sure this is one of my favorite stories of all time, across all genres. Yup.

So, to the book: I loved the things that were in the book but not in the movie- things that couldn't possibly be, like Matheson's writing style itself, especially in the beginning, when Richard Collier is talking to himself through a tape recorder. The sharp jaunty nature of his speech is really powerful, especially in one of the opening scenes where Richard is walking through a historical museum and feelings of unease wash over him. The way in which Matheson describes the threat of these inanimate objects, as if they could reanimate at any time, is so intense and powerful, that you remember just how terrifying a prospect time travel, or even the concept of time itself, is.

I also appreciated the greater discussion of the process of time traveling itself, and the description of Richard's multiple attempts, which make their way into the film through a dialogue with a professor (a scene I've always loved). The fact that Richard is losing his mind and becoming obsessed is even clearer in the book than it is in the film, and carries through to how he interacts with the past once he's able to "put down roots," as he says, and remain in the past even after sleep, a mental process which always threatens to erode the mental bond he forges in wakefulness.

The character of Elyse is a bit different in the book, as is her manager William Robinson. He's much  more of an intriguing character in the film, as one of the major shifts in the script was to suggest that he may also be a time traveler- and clearly, a more successful one. It's much better than the book's explanation of Elyse's initial reaction to Richard. She talks about her abstract interest in the occult and fortune-telling, which could have been interesting, but didn't go anywhere. The Robinson theory is much tighter. And in the film, the pocket watch is a boot-strapped item, something that exists in a timeloop. That is also unique to the film, but is of absolute importance when thinking about the dramatic ramifications of time and time-travel on the characters.

In short, through both the written word and silver screen, Matheson has created something that's untouchable. It's for this reason that no other time-travel story compares. (Yes, I did write one of those, and no that doesn't alter the statement I just made).

Of course I watched the movie, again, and of course now I'm going to voraciously read all of the other tales of his I'm aware of through adaptation, and see where they go. I have a particular interest in What Dreams May Come.

K Rating: 5/5