A very enjoyable tale of life and love

Rating: 7/10 (13 February 2014)

Sometimes a flawed and somewhat predictable movie can be enjoyed by the watcher due to its charm and inoffensive manner, Richard Curtis's time traveling love story About Time is one of those films, a film that provides enough laughs and heartfelt moments that only Scrooge himself could not find enjoyment in this tale.
Brendan Gleeson's very own Domhnall Gleeson gets his first big leading role here as our lovable ginger time traveling lawyer Tim and he does a fine job at being a lovable red haired version of Hugh Grant. Gleeson's chemistry with season rom-com veteran Rachel McAdams is made believable also with her slightly underused talents coming to the fore in most of their scenes and the eventual on screen romance plays out in a believable manner despite all the time traveling business occurring throughout. While this love story is a major part of About Time, Curtis has also positioned the film to be more than a man meets girl tale with a twist, and with this choice has made a film all the better for it.
Playing Tim's Dad is veteran British actor Bill Nighy, who with Gleeson gives the film another side that usual rom-coms would be hard pressed to have. It's within this relationship between time traveling father and son that the movie finds many relatable and confronting issues to deal with and by films end the audience's emotional investment has been well and truly earned thanks to it. In concerns to Curtis as a director, it's also a departure for the man who has not shown this side of himself as a director before but that's not to say the film lacks a few well-earned laughs and Curtis usual array of colorful supporting characters, which is evidenced in Tom Hollander's playwright Harry.
Coming in at roughly 2 hours About Time covers a lot of ground and in doing so it would be fair to say that the films first half pales in comparison to its much more concise and impactful second half, but as a whole it all comes together in such a way that it's hard to fully criticize. Watched with the right mindset About Time is the perfect movie for a night in and stepping stone for lead Gleeson to find his feet in the world of big budget tent pole movies.
3 and a half clenched fists out of 5