Back to the 50's ... Back to the 80's ... Back to a Timeless Classic ...

Rating: 10/10 (3 October 2011)

With a gentleness delicately lying beneath a smart and intelligent script, contributing to this extraordinary appeal that transcends every age barriers, "Back to the Future", in the same vein than its glorious predecessor "It's a Wonderful Life", is one of these heart-warming masterpieces that definitely stood the test  of time.
There is Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd's improbably pairing as Marty McFly and Doc Emmett Brown, the cool 80's teenager and the mad scientist, yet the chemistry is here, and we believe that these guys can be great friends. There is this unforgettable sight of the De Lorean at 88 mph disintegrating in a flash of light, leaving the two unforgettable fire trails. There is this heart-pounding climax on the clock tower driven by Alan Silvestri exhilarating 80's-defining score. There is this heart in the story. As the pillar of the movie's greatness there is Bob Gale and Zemeckis' winner script.
"Back to the Future" deserves its reputation as one of the most quotable films ever and with the richest gallery of colorful characters each one impacting our memories with so many delirious catchphrases, from Biff Tannen's "Butthead" to Marty's "This is heavy" and of course, Doc's hysterical "1,21 Gigawatts!" or "Great Scott". Christopher Lloyd has this unique talent to revive the mad scientist figure with a likable dimension, creating one of the most eccentric and sympathetic characters from the flamboyant 80's. But the power of the script doesn't just rely on its 'destiny' in one-liners, but in the way it rigorously respects the codes of every genre with a new remarkable technical precision.
"Back to the Future" is a masterstroke of originality in the way it adapted the 'adventure' genre, where the exoticness of the setting doesn't rely on its geographical but chronological aspect. Marty lives in a weird world where people don't know what a Pepsi Free or who John Kennedy are, and where Ronald Reagan is still "the actor?!". The adventure aspect provides some of the best gags of the film. Now to the Sci-Fi, from the simple premise of the film: time travels, Zemeckis refreshed an old scientific speculation by introducing the notion of ripple effect, that the smallest change in the past can have significant consequences for the future, for the better or for the worse. Finally, a movie had the right approach to time travels, probably earning it a deserving place in AFI's Top 10 Sci-Fi films.
This scientific approach conditioned Marty's mission in 1955, by preventing his parents from meeting and falling in love, Marty unknowingly jeopardized his own existence and of his siblings. The script outsmarts us through its ability to convert one thousands words into one simple image, Marty's picture with his brother and sister and the progressive fading of their bodies, cleverly illustrates Doc's notion of ripple effect. No need of words, the picture is the materialization of the success or the failure of the mission. And as long as Lorraine (Lea Thompson), is in love with her future son, the existence of her future children with George is severely compromised.
What a tricky dilemma! And when you discover Marty's family in 1985, you wonder how such a loser as George McFly (Crispin Glover) could have had a woman anyways. And Marty made the thing impossible again by replacing his own father on his to-be mother's heart. And Lorraine, by falling in love with her own son, creates a whole oedipal situation that, beyond the laughs, offers a very interesting perspective on the perception we might have toward our parent's youth, as we finally realize that they were young once. Of course, no one would dare to question how he would react if his own mother fell in love with him, but the way this is handled in the film is tactful and never fall into caricature.
This is the very aspect that makes "Back to the Future" a Family Comedy, with a heart beating for every generation, a film you can enjoy with your parents your buddies or your kids whether it's from the 50's or the 80's nostalgic value. Most of the film's humor relies on the 'generation gap' factor and the way things have changed a lot or not so much. Compare Lorraine's advice to her kids in 1985 and the way she behaved thirty year earlier. See poor Uncle Joey who might get used to his bars as a baby, Biff Tannen's same stupid jokes etc. The film cleverly underlines the effect time can have on our perceptions and relationships with people. But the beauty of "Back to the Future" is that the heart of the Family story and the entertainment from the laughs combined with the speculative imagination of Sci-Fi contribute to a new inspirational dimension.
Time travels represent the final opportunity to domesticate time, and to get a second chance. George gets a second chance and Marty learns one lesson or two during his journey while applying the fatherly advice he gave to his own father. And even more powerful is the way George would ultimately be the one to win Lorraine's heart and not through Marty's intervention, proving that sometimes, a simple act of bravura can change all your life for the best. Similarly to "It's a Wonderful Life", the film is about getting a second chance, about life, about time passing  And I can't go on without mentioning the most extraordinary moment of the film that would eternally ring bells of joy in my heart when George finally kisses Lorraine and in all of sudden, Marty who was progressively fading gets up and sees his brother and sister finally reappear in the photo. Mission accomplished!
And two young people dancing, ignoring, but we do, that they'll be forever together. An extraordinary moment that for me, summarizes the cherished place this film will occupy in my heart, for a long ... time.