Not the best of Curtis but a very likable addition to his collection of rom-coms

Rating: Null/10 (9 September 2013)

Over the years, British writer Richard Curtis has scripted some wonderful romantic comedies: "Four Weddings And A Funeral", "Notting Hill", and "Love Actually". So, by now, we know the features of Curtisworld: locations in London, upper middle-class English types, lots of friendship and love, plenty of wry and sometimes rude humour, a socially inhibited boy, an attractive North American girl, a doddery elderly male relative, a freaky young female relative, probably a wedding, probably a funeral, obviously some heavy rain, well-chosen songs, and finally a clever film title. "About Time, which Curtis has both written and directed, delivers all the familiar ingredients and is a charming addition to the canon but, while I really liked it, it was not love actually.
This time, we have two love stories and a time travel device that enables both to achieve special fulfilment. There is the father-son relationship between Bill Nighy and Domhnall Gleeson and the sexual relationship between Glesson and (Canadian) Rachel McAdmas (coincidentally "The Time Traveler's Wife"). Both the technique of time travel (clenching hands in a darkened space) and the rules (forget the 'Butterfly Effect') are rather ridiculous, but the device serves to pose some almost philosophical questions: If you could travel back in time to change things in your life, how often would you do it and what would you change? In the end, is it a power that you would use to change the facts of the past or your perception of the present?