This is one of those time travel anomaly stories that's bound to make your head hurt if you think about it too much. There are a number of circumstances revealed to the viewer that ought to take on significance but are rendered meaningless over the course of the story. The biggest one perhaps has to do with the pocket watch that the eighty five year old Elise McKenna presents to Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) at the beginning of the picture, along with the enigmatic plea - "Come back to me". During Richard's rendezvous with Elise (Jane Seymour) in 1912, she doesn't recognize the watch as her gift to him in the future. Is that because she hadn't acquired the watch yet at the time she spent a couple of days with Richard in 1912?
Similarly, when the older Elise approaches Richard in 1980, how does she recognize him as someone she knew in the past if Richard's trip to the past hadn't happened yet? In fact, it occurred after she died. So perhaps the better explanation of the events that occurred in the movie had more to do with Richard having a realistic feeling dream sequence, or maybe even experiencing a genuine, self imposed hypnotic event.
So maybe the best thing to do is simply sit back and enjoy the film for it's treatment of an unfulfilled and tragic love story. Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour certainly make for a handsomely attractive couple, with the period clothing and appointments adding to the charm and romance of the picture. My favorite scene had to do with the spontaneous dialog Miss McKenna injected into the play that was meant to express her love for Richard. The name of the play was 'Wisdom of the Heart', and Elise's monologue captured the essence and beauty of her brief relationship with Collier, with no one in the audience any the wiser that she was speaking extemporaneously. I thought that was a cleverly done scene that only added further resonance to the mystery of the story.
Similarly, when the older Elise approaches Richard in 1980, how does she recognize him as someone she knew in the past if Richard's trip to the past hadn't happened yet? In fact, it occurred after she died. So perhaps the better explanation of the events that occurred in the movie had more to do with Richard having a realistic feeling dream sequence, or maybe even experiencing a genuine, self imposed hypnotic event.
So maybe the best thing to do is simply sit back and enjoy the film for it's treatment of an unfulfilled and tragic love story. Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour certainly make for a handsomely attractive couple, with the period clothing and appointments adding to the charm and romance of the picture. My favorite scene had to do with the spontaneous dialog Miss McKenna injected into the play that was meant to express her love for Richard. The name of the play was 'Wisdom of the Heart', and Elise's monologue captured the essence and beauty of her brief relationship with Collier, with no one in the audience any the wiser that she was speaking extemporaneously. I thought that was a cleverly done scene that only added further resonance to the mystery of the story.