In New York (circa 1876), Leopold (Hugh Jackman) is an English Duke whose uncle (Paxton Whitehead) is pressuring him to marry a wealthy woman in order to insure the financial well-being of the family - in order that they might continue to live in the manner in which they've become accustomed. On the evening of his thirtieth birthday, the handsome and highly prized Third Duke of Albany (Jackman) is scheduled to announce his bride-to-be. But during the party thrown for this very purpose, Leopold spots an odd-looking stranger (Liev Schreiber) whom he'd seen earlier that day at a gala for the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge. Struck by the odd coincidence Leopold leaves the bevy of potential brides and pursues this mysterious fellow. His pursuit takes him on a frantic dash and a climb up the Brooklyn Bridge and before you can say H.G. Wells, Shreiber has traveled back to modern day New York and unfortunately for him has brought along a Duke.

As it turns out Jackman is Shreiber's great-great grandfather who is still wearing his dress clothes from the party which makes him look like Sergeant Pepper. Quite unfortunately for many of the residents of the Big Apple Leopold also happens to be the gentleman who invented the elevator. The two time travelers make a bit of a commotion in Shreiber's apartment, thus his ex-girlfriend Kate McKay (Meg Ryan), who lives in the apartment just beneath his, decides to investigate and as you might imagine this is the first time the title characters have occasion to meet. Ryan is accustomed to Shreiber's experimental tinkering, but is quite taken aback to find that one of her ex's inventions actually works. And is astonished and somewhat non-plussed as Shreiber explains that he's found a hole in the time-space continuum and accidentally brought back his great-grandfather, Count Leopold, the Third Duke of Albany

James Mangold (Girl Interrupted) directs this time-travel romantic comedy, with a light and deft touch. With only a week left to return Leopold to 1876, Shreiber has his work cut out for him. Meanwhile, Mangold has a good time with this peculiar fish-out-of-water tale - particularly as he contrasts the manners that have changed so drastically over a century and a half. Jackman plays the charming gentleman from Victorian England to a tee, and goodness is he amazed at the lifestyle of twenty-first century Americans who have no time for the amenities of life. Gone is tea-time, the culinary arts, or anything that passes for romantic etiquette.

Leopold is particularly fascinating to Kate's brother Charlie (Breckin Meyer), an actor, who hasn't fared very well with the opposite sex and allows Leopold to tutor him in the proper way to get a woman's attention. His romance and chivalry has just as big an impact on those around him as the sudden absence of elevators have on the citizens of New York. Kate's boss is a bit of a heal who expects a little lovin' in return for the advance that she deserves and has awaited for a long time. This situation is sorted out by the no-nonsense Old School gent, who shows up just in time to thwart the untoward advances of Kate's boss (Bradley Whitford) whom he reveals to be both a braggart and a cad. Mangold even goes so far as to have his time-traveling hero retrieve Kate's purse from a thief which he manages in short horseback chase through Central Park.

The reason Mangold goes to such lengths to impress is because Ryan is in one of those stages she gets herself into where she's given up on love in favor of absolute focus on her job. She looks at romance and relationships with a jaundiced eye bordering on celibacy. And her less crinkly-nosed-cute turn here makes for a believable, stressed-out career woman. Playing the jaded world-weary object of desire, against Jackman's sincere innocence sets both up for a lot of magical moments. The film works equally well as a light comedy as it does a think-piece of a love story.

Hugh Jackman is a delight as Leopold, the perfect gentleman who's a model of urbanity and civility so desperately missing from our times. In the end, his earnest goodness, wit and many kindnesses do have a positive impact on Kate, the worn-out workaholic. She is forced — like the character she played in Joe Versus the Volcano — to make an enormous life-altering leap of faith. This is a film that took a lot of chances from a plausibility standpoint, but the ebullient performance by Jackman, a fun turn by Brackin Meyer and a solid effort by Ryan make it work despite all that it asks from the audience.