About Time, Ironically ,Reviewed after Time has Passed.

Rating: 8/10 (5 April 2017)

This is still a great production and has the potential to become a slow-burn cult film.
The film's strength, paradoxically, is its weakness. It's very Englishness, it's middle-classness, the 'niceness' of its lead characters evokes an England (yes, an England - not a Britain) that never was except for a privileged few - and that is a hugely attractive draw. The characters have warmth, genuineness and kindness and live in a gentleness and sophistication that we would all like to experience. For many people this is far from the reality of life and so this is, effectively, English Disney.
This middle-class Englishness pervades all of Richard Curtis' films. From this point, the film lacks originality. We have seen it all before. We have also seen the time-travelling scenario. In this case, the technicality that Tim jumps back and creates a parallel happening, is overlooked - perhaps for reasons of practicality. We don't know what happens to Tim and his family in the life stream that he has left behind as he continues to live his new 'amended' life. But,perhaps, that is just me being picky but I will resist the temptation to travel back in time and erase that comment or it will be totally lost!
Put those two minor flaws aside and you have film that is full of warmth and heart. This film does make you value the people who have contributed positively to your life and what you, personally, would do when someone was injured or when the inevitable time comes to say goodbye. It also reminds you of the awful and awkward gawkiness of your youth and how you wish you had handled it differently. I loved the scenes where Tim travelled back and replaced his crassness with emotional intelligence and sincerity.
All of the performances are strong. Bill Nighy is as wonderfully Bill Nighy as ever, Lindsay Duncan gives an original, spiky and strong performance as the strangely unnamed mother , Domnhall Leeson projects a fragile and maturing appeal and will inevitably morph into Hugh Grant as he he ages and, while I loved Richard Cordery's Uncle Desmond, the plot purpose of this role was somewhat lost on me. I can only assume that it was to emphasise the complete warmth and acceptance of loving someone for whom they are and that existence can be enough in itself.
Rachel McAdams is perfectly lovely and the ever-wonderful Tom Hollander is grumpily magnificent. Joshua McGrath's Rory is a joy to watch (not least because he has recreated a friend of mine!) and, perhaps, a little bit more could have been made of Will Merrick's Jay. He has all the makings of a great 'Richard Curtis' character.
So, for me, this is a feel-good film and there's nothing wrong with that. Like Richard Curtis' other films it is a welcome retreat to a screen family for whom you could love and care and whom you know well. Definitely a classic to snuggle up to on the sofa with something alcoholic, or someone warm at the end of a trying day.