About Time

Rating: 8/10 (12 September 2013)

Richard Curtis, writer of successful comedy shows and films like Blackadder, The Vicar of Dibley, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill, debuted as director with the alright Love Actually, and followed with the disappointing The Boat That Rocked, I hoped this would be third time lucky, he said it may be likely to be his last film as director. Basically on his 21st birthday Tim Lake (Black Mirror: Be Right Back star Domhnall Gleeson, Brendan's son) is told by his father (Bill Nighy) the family secret, all men throughout the family have had the ability to travel back in time, and following the instruction to go into a dark place he tries it out and sees it is true, he cannot change history, only moments in his own personal past. He wants to use his gift to help find true love, and later the following summer his sister Kit Kat (Lydia Wilson) brings her friend Charlotte (Margot Robbie) to stay with the family, near the end of her time with them he decides to tell her his feelings for her, he is heartbroken when even changing what he does with time travel she does not feel the same for him. Tim decides later to go to London to become a lawyer, he moves in with struggling playwright, and acquaintance of his father, Harry (Tom Hollander), and later with his friend he meets Mary (The Time Traveller's Wife star Rachel McAdams) in darkness at a blind dating establishment, it is only outside that they see each other and feel mutual attraction, she gives him her number. Tim hears that Harry's opening night of his new play is a disaster as a lead actor forgot his lines, but travelling back in time he helps the actor and the play is a success, but later trying to call Mary the number is no longer on his phone, because going to the play means that he and her never met. Remembering her interest of Kate Moss he looks for her in an exhibition, and eventually using his time travel method he finds the right approach to say hello, but he is devastated to find she already has a boyfriend, they met the night after the play at a house party, so he travels back so that she and he never meet, and knowing she is bored he invites her for a dinner date with him. Tim and Mary have a good evening, and she is happy to have him walk her all the way home and invite him up to her place, and using his time travelling he is able to enjoy the night with her more than once, and they have many dates after and are very happy. She tells him that she is pregnant, which he is very surprised by, and despite another encounter with Charlotte he knows he loves Mary and proposes marriage to her, and they marry, and later have daughter Posy, and stay happily married through the passing years as he uses time travel to solve the minor problems and have a beneficial life. There is an incident on Posy's first birthday Kit Kat has a car crash following a row with her boyfriend Jimmy Kincade (Tom Hughes) who has caused nothing but trouble since meeting her at the New Year's Party he first time travelled back to, so he tries to stop her ever meeting him and stop the crash happening, but causing this change in history mean Posy will be another child, so he has to allow this crash to happen. Kit Kat eventually recovers in hospital and is back on the mend having split with the boyfriend, Tim and Mary have their second child, son Jeff, but then another tragedy strikes when Tim's Dad is diagnosed with terminal cancer, time travel cannot change this, he had been using his ability to time travel to spend more time with the family as he knew this for some time, he is ready to die. Tim travels back in time often to spend more time with his father while he was alive, then Mary says she wants another child, he knows that this means he will not be able to travel back and see his father any more, so he travels back one last time to see his Dad and tell him, but before going they travel back in time together to spend time on the beach as their younger selves. Tim takes the advice from his father to live every day twice, once normality to have all the stresses of a normal person, the second time knowing what to expect, change the smallest of things and embrace everything, but after having his third child, daughter Jo, Tim comes to realise it is is better to live every day like it was the last and enjoy life with Mary and the family like normal. Also starring Lindsay Duncan as Mum, Joshua McGuire as Rory, Vanessa Kirby as Joanna, Lisa Eichhorn as Jean, Mary's Mother, Tom Hughes as Jimmy Kincade, Richard Cordery as Uncle D and Mitchell Mullen as Fitz, Mary's Father. Gleeson gives a good performance as the young man using the ability to travel back in time to win the girl and connect with his father, McAdams is really beautiful and sweet as the girl the lead male marries and has children with, and Nighy is lovable as the bumbling but always reliable father, supporting cast members get their good moments as well. The story is both clever in the way it makes you laugh, feel affection and cry, and it is clever because it points everything in life we may take for granted, it is a sweet love story, it is a heartwarming father and son story, it is funny in the right places, and it is of course written and performed very well, it is a great romantic comedy science-fiction film. Very good!