Thursday, 12 September 2013

About Time – A lovely heart warming tale




About time is a hilarious yet touching film about a young man who can travel back in time to relive, alter and ultimately improve any moment of his life with relative ease. It would be classed as a romantic comedy, but it’s not overly soppy so I would expect that almost anyone would enjoy it.

The movie starts in a rather idyllic setting at a seaside home, where we meet Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) and his somewhat unconventional family. After a rather embarrassing New Years Eve party, Tim’s father (Bill Nighy) pulls him aside to reveal a startling family secret. It turns out all the males within the family can travel back in time. After limited success with romance Tim’s first priority is to use this newfound ability to assist him in finding the love of his life. It’s here where he meets the lovely Mary (Rachel McAdams) and where all the hijinx relating to the use time travel to secure her affections begin.

Richard Curtis known for ‘Love Actually’ and ‘Notting Hill’ wrote and directed the film. I would say has done another solid job. At a few points throughout the film I found myself expecting him to make a mistake with the added complexity of time travel in the story, but to the Richard’s credit, the plot fitted together seamlessly. The humour is clever and won’t be lost on anyone, as it’s the sort of content that most can relate to.

As with most of Curtis’s films each of the supporting characters have their own sort of flair, meaning the lead’s end up being the most normal out of the bunch. Domhnall will largely be an unknown for most viewers, having minor roles on films like ‘Dredd’ and the ‘Harry Potter’ series. He fits the character well though and has great comic delivery. Rachel McAdams was not exceptional, nice and cheerful, but she is a little too nonchalant in a few of the films more romantic moments. Interestingly this isn’t her first foray into films as the love interest for men with the ability to time travel. Fans might also remember her as Clare in ‘The Time Travellers Wife’. Bill Nighy is brilliant as Tim’s eccentric time travelling father. He is hilarious during the funny bits, but also truly genuine during the tear jerking scenes.


About Time is a lovely heart warming tale, tracking the joys of ordinary life with a time travelling twist. The drama involved is set around the hardships found in everyday life, but is somehow made to seem beautiful. With numerous ‘laugh out loud’ moments I would recommend this for anyone. It will be a particularly good date night film that even the lads will enjoy.

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