Lots of love, not much else going on

Rating: 7/10 (4 October 2013)

About Time stars Domhnall Gleeson as Tim, a socially awkward young adult who finds out he can travel in time (within his own past) and decides to use his powers to find love. The target of his pursuits is the also somewhat awkward Mary (Rachel McAdams). There are definitely some issues regarding the specific mechanics of the time travel, but it is not a big issue, since this is a romantic comedy with time travel elements and not a sci-fi film about time travel. It seems that the film will be a sort of self-induced Groundhog Day with repeated attempts to make Mary fall in love with Tim. Surprisingly, the time travel mechanic is not used much. In the second half of the film it is only used two or three times.
This film is a romantic comedy, meaning it has to check two important boxes: romance and comedy. There is definitely chemistry between the leads. Tim and Mary are very similar: they are both a bit socially awkward, shy, but also very witty. The dialogue between them highlights their similarities and feels very real. Romance: check. The dialogue in the film overall is fantastic, with its British dry wit. Contributing greatly to the comedy are the supporting characters surrounding Tim and Mary like Tim's quirky free-spirited sister or his bitter playwright of a landlord. The scenes between Tim and his father (Bill Nighy) are some of the best in the film. Every character is unique and quirky almost to a fault. Comedy: check Where the movie fails, however, is the plot and plot structure, which is unfortunate considering the interesting concept. A tried and true format for films is to have an overarching conflict that the protagonist tries to solve throughout the film with many obstacles along the way. This keeps the audience invested in every scene. This film does not do that, rather is an episodic series of minor conflicts. There are a scene or two of conflict introduction, then a scene of the conflict being resolved, and then a scene or two of just Tim and Mary just being in love, repeat. The conflicts rarely involve Tim and Mary's relationship at all. For better or for worse it isn't the incredibly formulaic romantic comedy plot structure and on paper this format actually makes sense in keeping with the themes of the film â€“ living life and appreciating life's ups and downs. But this does not translate to screen well. The lack of central tension results in boredom. Also, it means there isn't much of a character arc to Tim. Therefore, when the movie ends, it just sort of happens.
Speaking of the ending, the similarity between this film and Richard Curtis' earlier success Love Actually (2003) is very noticeable. Firstly, the ending of About Time is stylistically identical to the opening of Love Actually, complete with a disembodied voice talking about life and love over shots of random residence of London. The plot missteps can also be traced to the 2003 film. Love Actually is an ensemble comedy with each character having their own conflict and resolution. Lacking one central conflict it works in that film because there is no central protagonist. About Time, on the other hand, is a single protagonist film with a multi-protagonist film structure.
Overall the film is enjoyable despite its shortcomings. There are plenty of embarrassing and hilarious situations that Tim finds himself in. And for those looking for romance, Tim and Mary's relationship is exactly what you want. But the film could've been so much more, with a better structure to the plot and better use of the under-utilized time travel aspect.