About Time

ABOUT TIME

Director : Richard Curtis

Year : 2013

Genre : Romantic Comedy

Rating : ****1/2

Richard Curtis, the undisputed king of the romantic comedy returns to our screens with the utterly wonderful 'About Time', a moving and beautifully acted piece starring Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy and Tom Hollander. Telling the story of a young man who can magically travel in time to get the girl of his dreams, 'About Time' immediately draws comparison with the frankly perfect 'Groundhog Day'. However, while that film relied more on comedy to attract an audience, 'About Time' is a much more evocative and sentimental work than many may expect from Richard Curtis, who usually provides us with a good amount of belly laughs and a healthy amount of vulgarity. While the film may not be as hilarious as 'Love Actually' or 'The Boat That Rocked', 'About Time' still has a very big heart and an infectious love for life. Charming,  funny and completely delightful in every way, the film is an absolute joy from beginning to end and has turned out to be the grand finale of what has otherwise been a rather disappointing Summer at the cinema.

Tim (Gleeson) is an average guy; unlucky with the girls and pretty down on his luck. However his luck suddenly changes when his Dad (Nighy) reveals an  astonishing secret; all of the male members of his family can time travel. Dubious at first, he humours his father but finds out to his amazement that his Dad was telling the truth and soon begins to right the various wrongs in his life; first and foremost, finding a girlfriend. As a romance begins to blossom with a young American named Mary (McAdams), Tim learns not to time travel and in doing so, he begins to appreciate the values of life and time spent with loved ones. But as problems arise and the temptation to traverse time becomes more and more inviting, he runs the risk of not only losing his way in life but also losing his entire relationship to the meddling of the dimensions of time.

The brilliant thing that 'About Time' has going for it is that it doesn't follow the traditional 'rom - com' conventions and goes to places not many movies will normally go to. Rather than focusing on the building of a relationship, the majority of 'About Time' actually revolves around the life that someone has with the one they love; from marriage to the birth of children. This is new territory for Curtis, who usually sticks to the general conventions of a standard boy meets girl film. For me, 'Love Actually' is the best romantic comedy ever made; full of great performances and a festive feast of quotable dialogue. 'About Time' can't profess to have the same comedic heart as 'Love Actually' or any other of his other work but what it does have is a sentimental heart and a positive tone that is genuinely fabulous. 

The cast are all fantastic and while none give award worthy performances, each actor on screen portrays a character I can easily gravitate to and eventually learn to love. In the central lead, we have Domhnall Gleeson (son of Brendan) who strangely evokes the spirit of Curtis regular Hugh Grant with his awkward mannerisms and stutter-y nature. He is completely involving as the main character and deftly holds the cameras attention and draws us in with his likable personality and big heart. Rachel McAdams is great as the romantic interest of the film and unlike many other similar archetypes, she is active and her story is just as interesting and engaging as the central protagonists. As a couple, the pair work very well together and the relationship portrayed on screen is realistic and relatable; full of tremendous highs and crippling lows. 

The supporting cast is equally as good; Bill Nighy is dead on brilliant as Tim's noble and wisdom filled father and gives one of the best performances of the year. He is witty, he is insightful, he is hilarious, he is Bill Nighy; what more needs to be said? Tom Hollander is hilariously vile as Tim's flatmate, whose life is a constant whirlwind of disappointment and regret but whose tough persona hides a loving heart. While not given much screen time or development, Lyndsay Duncan is good as Tim's loving Mum and Lydia Wilson is joyously silly as Tim's zany, offbeat and eccentric sister Kit Kat. Altogether, the cast form a great ensemble and thanks to the brilliant direction of Richard Curtis, each give heartfelt and real performances.

For a film about time travel, 'About Time' really doesn't feature as much science fiction as you would expect. Yes, we are treated to a number of moments where Tim goes into a dark space and magically finds himself in the past, but they are really far and few between and as the film progresses, this aspect seems to become less and less important. In fact, to me it doesn't even seem to be that important to Curtis who throws away the ideas of the dreaded 'butterfly effect' or any other time anomalies almost immediately. The time travel isn't important here. The story and the relationships are. As always in a Curtis film, there are the tragic and moving moments and of course, they are dealt with in a perfectly honest and respectful way. But these moments never detract from the overwhelming good nature of the piece which in the end turns out to be Curtis' best film to date (and I say that as a huge fan of 'Love Actually'). 

While I absolutely adore this film, for some it may too sentimental and at nearly 2 hours long, I can imagine the stonier hearted becoming bored by the three quarter mark. However, for fans of romantic comedies or Richard Curtis, I implore you to see this film. It is an absolute joy and one that I can't wait to experience again and again and again.