The Time Machine (2002)

Aren't you forgetting something? Something to do with the third coefficient. Not that. Tonight. What? Emma? - What time is it? - Almost 5. Oh, God. My concepts for microenergy waves, rejected. The dean suggests I focus on something to help mankind. Like his tobacco study. - Alex, your ideas are too radical. - The problem is the faculty. They're dinosaurs. They're extinct and don't know it. One day they'll be discovered by a future archaeologist. Their dim little eyes... It's your first year as associate professor. Play things more... ...conservatively. - You sound like my father. Look at them, Philby. All alike. Identical bowler hats. You want your students to be like that? I want my students prepared for the realities of the world. I want them to run along, knocking off every bowler they see. - Mrs. Watchit! - Oh, huzzah, the master's home. - You get it? - Hello. - Hello. You're looking in the pink. - Must be the scampering... ...up and down the stairs. - You get it? I got it. Don't think I'm letting you go out in that filthy jacket. Now, go in there and change. And you got another letter from that annoying man. Go ahead. Switch it on. It'll help people keep their teeth well into their 40s. - You might think about cleaning that. - Who has the time? - How did you know with Molly? - Know what? - You were meant to be together. - She made the best shepherd's pie. - Not one romantic bone in your body? - No, I'm all bowler hat. Why do you waste time on that crackpot? He has interesting ideas. A professor shouldn't correspond with a crazy German bookkeeper. He's a patent clerk. Mr. Einstein deserves all the support I can give. I wonder if we'll ever go too far. With what? With this. With all of this. No such thing. All right. How do I look? Practically decent. Good luck. She's a fine girl. She's done wonderful things. Don't worry, you still have that alluring chalk smell. Oh, gotta hurry. That's more like it. You look a proper gentleman for once. Better hope so. If Emma turns me down, you're next. I'm already swooning. All right, wish me luck. Thank you. Fresh flowers! Fresh flowers! - Flowers, sir? - Not tonight, thanks. No. I promised her flowers. - Spectacular. - Spectacular waste of money. - Damn thing always breaks down. - Need a lift? Yes. How's the temperature stabilized? A cantilevered gasket on the fuel regulator... Much obliged. I'm always forgetting the damn brake. Hop in. I'll give you a perambulation before it breaks again. I have a prior engagement. Another time. We perambulate most every night. Certainly. - Get a horse! - Yes, yes. Alexander! You're late, professor. I got here as soon as I could. They say it's the rage in Paris. But I picked it up for $5 at Macy's. Silly, isn't it? Very silly. I like it. - Well, where are they? - What? The flowers. You promised me flowers tonight. Oh, I'm sorry. I was distracted. Well, there is something new. Emma, I need to talk to you. - Shall we walk through the park? - Yes. Professor, you're shivering. I hope you're not coming down with something. Well, I'm afraid I am. I'm not sleeping very well. Even awake, I'm not much use. I can't eat... ...or think or do much of anything anymore. The worst part is, I don't know that I'll ever be well. There's only one remedy. For you to marry me and spend the rest of your life with me. Emma, I know it's right. We're meant to be together. It's the only thing I've never had to think about. Oh, Alex. Wait, I have something for you. - The moment is rather dying here. - I know. Hold on. - I know it's not a diamond. - A moonstone. Well, it's your birthstone. I thought... You thought right. I just might cry. I couldn't help but overhear. Two fine young people... ...starting out on the road of life. - I wish you the very best. - Well, thank you. And much as I hate to do this, moved as I am by your... ...protestations of love... ...I'll be needing your money now. - Sir? - And your jewelry too. We can call this your first bump on the road to marital bliss. - I don't... - Don't make a scene. There's no cause for that. Give me your wallet, would you? - Did you hear me, lad? - All right, all right. Here, that's everything. Your watch. And the gloves. And the ring. No. I'm afraid so, darling. Maybe he'll buy you a diamond now. Please. Not that. Why did you do that? It's only a ring. Emma. Emma. What? Oh, sir, Mr. Philby's here. - Here? - Yes. He insisted on coming... Tell him to go away. I'm busy. I won't go away, Alex. My God, what's happened to you? I've been working. You used to care about your work. I care more about my life and yours. I came by every day after the funeral. Every week, every other month. Then I stopped coming. Did you even notice? It hurt me, Alex, very much. Then why are you here now? - There are things I have to say. - I know. You're concerned. I hear it from Mrs. Watchit every day. But really... ...I need you to go. - I won't go with you hiding down here. - I'm not. - That's what it is. You're in here all day. Alex, will you please stand still and look at me? It wasn't your fault. No. It wasn't my fault. Maybe we should blame Mrs. Watchit for getting the ring from the jeweler. Or the jeweler for making it. Or the poor bastard who tore the stone from the earth. I should blame you for introducing us in the first place. Alexander, nothing will ever change what happened. No, you're wrong. Because I will change it. David, I appreciate your concern. I do. But I ask you to have faith in me. I want to have faith in you, Alex, but... ...what are you doing here? Why don't you come by for dinner in a week... ...and I'll show you? - Come home with me now. - Did you not hear me? I can't leave when I'm so close. All right, we'll continue this conversation in a week. In a week, we'll never even have had this conversation. Ah, thank you, my good man. Yeah, I'll need a pair for me. You're early. That's a first. I wanted to see you. Well, where are they? What? The flowers. You promised me flowers tonight, don't you even remember? You never cease to surprise me. Emma, I need to talk to you. - Shall we walk through the park? - No. No. Let's go into the city. - Alex, what is it? - Nothing. Just hurry! Running is all very well for you. You're not wearing a corset! Bleecker Street, and be quick about it! Good evening. Oh, now you're all gallant. You're shivering. I hope you're not coming down with something. No, no. I'm fine. I'm wonderful. - Just walking with you again. - We took a walk three days ago. Well, not like this. Never like this. Heavens, look at that. - I've seen it. - Now I know you're ill. You're passing up the chance to explore a new gadget. It's only a machine. Tell me what's going on. Is something wrong? No. Emma, listen. I need to leave, but I want you to go home and stay there. I promise I'll come by later. I'll be upset you didn't meet me in the park... ...but you must trust me. Everything will be all right. Just know how much I love you. How much I'll always love you. All right. But first, where are my flowers? Flowers, it is. Wait right there. Don't move. - Oh, can I help you, sir? - Yes, a dozen roses, white. No, red. I'm looking for Professor Hartdegen. Alex, I'm... I'm so sorry. This was not supposed to happen. Of course not. - I know there's nothing I can say. - We were out of the park. We were safe. Why can't I change it? I could come back a thousand times. See her die a thousand ways. I don't understand. I can't find the answer here. Not here. Not now. The future is now. Certain restrictions apply. For details, contact lunarleisureliving.com. Hi, the latest update from Lunar Leisure Living. ...to create subterranean chambers for lunar leisure living. 1500-yard drives, no problem. At less gravity, you're guaranteed to dance. Contact Lunar Leisure Living to reserve your piece of heaven. The future is now. Availability subject to change. Hey. Hello. Nice suit. Very retro. Thank you. Bet that makes a hell of a cappuccino. The thing. I'll see you. Attention, everyone. Class 23, gather, please. Next stop, Antiquities. Make sure your microscans are charged. Two by two, let's look lively. Tommy, do that again and I'll resequence your DNA. Now, march! Two by two, please. Look lively. Welcome to Vox System. How may I help you? I didn't see you there. I seem to have that effect. How may I help you? What is that thing? That's my photonic memory core or PMC, as we say. Over here, sir. - What are you? - A public library information unit. Vox registration NY-114. How may I help you? - Oh, a stereopticon of some sort. - Stereopticon? Oh, no, sir. I'm a photonic with link capabilities... ...connected to every database on the planet. Photonic? A compendium of all human knowledge. Area of inquiry? - Know anything about physics? - Accessing physics. Mechanical engineering? Dimensional optics. Chronography. Temporal causality. Temporal paradox. - Time travel? - Yes. - Accessing science fiction. - Practical application. My question is, why can't one change the past? Because one cannot travel into the past. - Well, what if one could? - One cannot. Excuse me. This is something you should trust me on. Accessing writings of Isaac Asimov, H.G. Wells, Alexander Hartdegen. - Tell me about him. - Alexander Hartdegen, 1869-1903. Eccentric scientist. Writings include the creation of a time machine. - Tell me about the time machine. - Time Machine was written by H.G. Wells. - It was adapted to a movie and musical. - That's not what I mean. - Want to hear the score? - No. That's quite enough. - Will there be anything else? - No. I think I'll have better luck... ...in a few hundred years. - Live long and prosper. Sir, where's your designated evacuation center? - You are subject to arrest. - Put your hands out, sir. You'll be held until you're cleared for transport. Take it easy! - We gotta get out of here! - Wait! - How did this happen? - The moon. Come on. Move it. Impossible. What happened? - What, you been living under a rock? - Yes. Now, tell me. Demolitions for the lunar colony ruined the orbit. Moon's breaking up. - Hey! - Forget him! Come on! Emma. Hello. Don't be afraid. Wait, don't go. Wait. I just want to talk to you. Hello. I'm sorry, I don't understand you. - Do you know my words? - Yes. Let's talk alone. - The lex, the stone language. - The stone language? - But do you understand me? - We all learn it when we're young. They tor'jen. Forget, they forget it. But I teach. What is he saying? They're deciding if we should throw you in the river. Tell me the truth. Where do you come from? Well, actually, I'm from here, just not from now. You see, I built a machine that allows me to travel through time. I'm from the past. Oh. I told them you hit your head and you are a wandering idiot. - What are you doing? - Getting ready for the mor. The night. I'll come with you. - Eloi? - What are your people named? Well, I guess you'd call us New Yorkers. - New Yorkers, are they friendly? - Until you talk to them. Tell me about your village. It's a busy place. Everyone seems to be in a hurry. And they all wear identical bowler hats. - Little round things on their heads. - What do you do? I was a teacher, like Mara. - And I make things. - I made a sess 'quin 'tan with my papa. We still use it. A sess 'quin 'tan? Sess 'quin 'tan, steps of rope. - A rope ladder. - We can make one. I will teach you. Will you tell me more on the next day? Tomorrow? Yes, I will. Why don't you take care of this for me tonight? Thank you. - Good night. - Good night. Kalen will tire you if you let him. He's always questioning. Our parents were firm, but it is his way. Where are your parents? They've gone from this place. I'm sorry. You were right, Philby. I did go too far. Sit with me. Mara, why do you pull the boats up at night? Are you afraid they'll be stolen? Stolen? I do not know that word. Will someone take them? It is just more safe this way. You must do things to be safe where you're from? Well, of course. Yes. Or when you come from. So I'm not just a wandering idiot. Col'mar. Maybe we could find some tomorrow. Flowers? Morlock! Morlock! - Is he all right? - He had a dream. So did I. - I was moving through a jungle and... - And you saw a shape ahead of you. A face that called my name. We all have that dream. - All of you? - Yes, now go back to sleep. You're still not well. What does that mean, "Morlock"? A child's dream, no more. Go back asleep. We keep these stones in many places. This is the room where my parents taught me for the first time. Why do you learn this language if you don't use it? It's a tradition we hand down. It meant something once. It must be here for a reason. "One generation passeth away, and another cometh. But the earth abideth forever." Why have you come here? - Why do you travel through time? - To have a question answered. A question? Yes. Why can't I change the past? Why would you want to? You've lost someone. Someone you loved very much. Mara, why are there no older people here? What do you mean? - Older people, your parents' age. - They've gone from this place. You mean they're dead? Yes. - All of them? How is that possible? - There are things better left unsaid. We don't dwell on the past, Alexander. - We do something else. - What? We remember them... ...with these. Alexander! Alexander. Are you coming to work now? Come with me. He's not well. We're gonna see his machine. - Now? - Stay with Toren. - Go the next day, tomorrow. - I need to see that it's all right. This way. Will you tell me more about New York tonight? I will. Good, it seems fine. We had quite a ride together. It's ready? It appears so. Will you use it now? Go back to your own time? Well, I guess I could. - It seems so long ago. - No, you should go. And I need to ask... ...will you take Kalen with you? Why? Take him away. Back to your time. Will you? - Mara, why? - Please, you don't know. Take him away from here. Kalen! - Mara, what's going on? - They're early. We must get Kalen. Kalen! Kalen! Kalen! Mara! - Kalen! - No, stay here. Stay in the group. Run! Where did they go? We have to follow. - We do not col'quin tor, no. - Why not? This is nem Eloi'tas. Our life here. - How can you just do nothing? - How can tor'tas al'mor? - It's day and night. - Day and night? This is the world. Why don't you fight back? Fight back. Why not? Those who far quil'pax... ...fight... ...are taken first. - Do you know where they go? - No. - Do they come back? - No. - Has anyone followed? - I don't know. What about the Morlocks? There must be a leader. Kalen, listen! Sometimes we need to accept what happens. And other times we have to fight. Even if we are afraid. Now, it's difficult to understand. I know. Believe me, I know. Now, they're afraid... ...and I'm asking you not to be. So will you tell me what you know? We can save her. Please. When they go, we're not supposed to talk about it. But we all know of a place. - What place? - Where the ghosts are. Here it is. Welcome to Vox System. How may I help you? It's all right. How may I serve you? What can I get you? Let's see... Henry James? No, no, too depressing. Hemingway, perhaps? No, no, too sweaty. Plato, Proust, Pinter, Poe, Pound? No. The complete works of Martha Stewart? I have it! Jules Verne. Right up your alley, I would think. - Photonic, right? - Or what's left of one. What's left of all of them. I am the last. "And these fragments I have shored against my ruins," T.S. Eliot. You wouldn't know him yet, but he is so depressing, yet so divine. I'm sorry. The lending library is out of service. Not to worry, I have them all right here. Every page of every volume. - Can you tell me what's happening? - My sources are no longer annotated... ...and my information is anecdotal. But what was once one race is now two. One above and one below. Two distinct species that have evolved. - And how do those below survive? - That is the real question, isn't it? I don't believe it. If you don't like the answers, you should avoid asking the questions. Look at them. They have no knowledge of the past. No ambition for the future. So lucky. Why would you say something like that? Can you even imagine what it's like to remember everything? I remember the girl who asked me about dinosaurs 800,000 years ago. I remember the last book I recommended. Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe. And, yes, I even remember you. Time travel. Practical application. How do you know about the Morlocks if you can't leave this place? One Eloi managed to escape. He told me everything. We spent years together. Just talking. The conversation's a little spotty now, but I do remember. It's good to have a friend. Then you can help us find the Morlocks, find Mara. And if the truth is so horrible, it will haunt your dreams for all time? Well, I think I'm used to that. My friend said he came from the east. From the jungle. - Can you describe it? - I don't have to. Just follow the breathing. In the dream we're moving toward it. But I think it was meant to keep us away. - I might just go in by myself. - No. Mara would be very cross with me if you got hurt. I'll find her. Go to the village and light a fire so we can find our way home. - Will you do that for me? - I lost your pocket watch. They took it from my room. I'm sorry. Why would they take it? Stupid. Mara. Mara? Mara. Mara? Come a little closer. I don't bite. Do I surprise you? A little, yes. We weren't always like this. After the moon fell from the sky... ...the earth could no longer sustain the species. Some managed to stay above. The rest of us escaped underground. Centuries later, when we tried to re-emerge into the sun, we couldn't. So we bred ourselves into castes. Some to be our eyes and ears. Some to be our muscles and sinews. You mean your hunters. Yes. Bred to be predators, but bred also to be controlled. You see, my caste... ...concentrated on expanding our cerebral abilities. - You control their thoughts. - Not just theirs. The Eloi. So it's not enough that you hunt them down like animals. - That's their role here. - To be your food. Yes. And for those who are suitable, to be breeding vessels for other colonies. You see, I'm just one of many. I don't understand how you can speak so coldly about this. Have you not considered the human cost of what you're doing? We all pay a price... ...Alexander. Don't worry, you're safe. I control them. Without that control... ...they would exhaust the food supply... ...in a matter of months. Food supply? They're human beings! Who are you to question ...of evolution? This is a perversion of every natural law. What is time travel but your pathetic attempt to control the world? Your futile effort to have a question answered. Do you think I don't know you, Alexander? I can look inside your memories. Your nightmares. Your dreams. You're a man haunted by those two most terrible words: "What if?" Daddy! Daddy! You built your time machine because of Emma's death. If she had lived, it wouldn't have existed. So how could you use your machine to go back to save her? You are the inescapable result of your tragedy. Just as I... ...am the inescapable result... ...of you. You have your answer. Now go. I believe you have something that belongs to me. We all have our time machines, don't we? Those that take us back are memories. Those that carry us forward... ...are dreams. You're forgetting one thing. What if? - What are you doing with it? - Changing the future. Come on. Wait here. Go! Hurry! Alexander! I'm sorry you lost your machine. Oh, it's all right. It was only a machine. "The congregation rose and stared while the three dead boys... ...came marching up the aisle. Tom in their lead, Joe next and Huck... ...a ruin of drooping rags, sneaking sheepishly in the rear. They had hid in a gallery, listening to their own funeral sermon... Aunt Polly, Mary and the Harpers..." This is the place. So it is. But there's nothing here. Well, it was different then. My laboratory was all around here. The kitchen was over there where that tree is. Not that Mrs. Watchit ever let me go in there. I don't know what to tell you, sir. - He's been gone this whole week. - And you have no idea where he went? - No, sir. - This would be my greenhouse. There was a garden outside. Yes. I'm glad. Sir? I'm glad he's gone. Maybe he's finally found some place where he can be happy. This was my home. His home. Long ago. You know, Molly and I were talking about engaging a housekeeper. Someone to live with us and help take care of Jamie. Are you interested? - Perhaps until the master returns. - Of course. But there'd be some changes made. I run a tight house. I have no doubt of that. I'll call and we'll arrange it. - Good night, Mrs. Watchit. - Good night, Mr. Philby. Godspeed, my fine lad. Godspeed.