Heartwarming and quirky

Rating: 9/10 (27 September 2013)

On his 21st birthday, Tim's Dad lets him in on a secret - the male members of his family can travel back in time. Tim uses this ability over the years to try to undo bad things, sometimes making things worse in the process.
Richard Curtis writes and directs a romantic comedy which hangs from a sci-fi hook, although to call it a sci-fi movie (or even a time travel movie) would be grossly overstating the case. It is charming, constantly funny (though not necessarily belly-laugh funny), always interesting, it doesn't always go in the direction you expect (although it does mostly), and it is populated by characters who you are happy to spend time with.
Tim is played by Domhnall Gleeson as a nerd who arcs gracefully into a good but ordinary (except for his ability) man, Rachel McAdams (who I don't normally like) does well as love interest Mary, Bill Nighy steals the film as usual, and the rest of the support are all very good (Tom Hollander's acidic Harry is particularly good fun.
The story is solid but not exceptional, either as a romance, slice of life, or time travel. The script is, as one might expect from Curtis, frothy but with some meat on the bones, with real emotion and heart.
I liked this a lot.