About Time is about right!

Rating: 9/10 (27 October 2013)

"About Time" is the story of a slightly socially inept your man, Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson). At the age of 21 his father reveals the family secret, all the men in the family can travel back in time, basically having their current consciousness temporarily present in younger versions of themselves. Tim decides to use this ability to get a girlfriend, which at first does not work out so well. However, when he later meets Mary (Rachel McAdams), his abilities come in handy to get a crucial first date to work out well.
The movie goes on to tell the story of Tim and Mary's relationship, and Tim learning the usefulness, and limitations, of his time traveling, to help himself and others. Along the way there are many humorous moments some that work better than others, along with some truly poignant moments, such as the day when Tim has to say goodbye for the very last time to his beloved father.
I saw "About Time" in a preview showing last week, and came with hopes for a good movie, but wondered how raw the movie would be (it is rated 'R"), and if it would have all of the typically romantic comedy clichés. I found it to be in general a pleasant movie to watch with characters that I genuinely came to feel like I knew and loved.
While a relatively minor part of the movie, some will be put off a bit by some vulgar language, a few isolated sex related jokes, and the frequent (off screen) premarital sex that leads to one couple getting married due to an unplanned pregnancy. There are a couple of scenes in which Mary is shown in her underwear, once topless, but covering herself with her hands such that nothing is visible. I was actually a bit puzzled that the movie was rated "R", since most of this material was not much different from what you can see any day on basic cable television.
Domhnall Gleeson did a convincing job of portraying Tim as a genuinely nice guy who cares about other people and goes out of his way to help people when he can. Rachael McAdams is pleasant as Mary and she and Tim make a nice couple on screen. I was pleasantly surprised that the movie avoided some of the romantic comedy formula, by not having an artificial way to separate and then later get the couple back together. The interactions between Tim and his dad (wonderfully played by Bill Nighy) were touching and realistic (not counting the whole time travel thing).
To sum up the movie was fun, interesting, and really much more pleasant to watch than I had initially thought it might be. It was a true "science fantasy" movie, in that it took ordinary people, introduced a fantastic concept, and then let things play out in a fairly realistic way. In the end it also had some surprisingly worthwhile things to say about the importance of making the right choices and living life to the fullest, but did it without hitting you over the head with it. I would gladly see it again sometime and recommend that you strongly consider going to see it yourself.