An exciting fantasy comedy wrapped in a romance, that pushes its 'time loop' concept to the maximum creative potential.

Rating: 10/10 (15 September 2018)

As I watched Groundhog Day, over time, just like Phil does with Punxsutawney in this movie, I began to fall in love with it.
Firstly, Bill Murray is, of course, great in his role as the narcissistic deadpan Phil - but the film allows Murray to expand upon that archetypal character. The film joyfully toys with his evolution over the film from this passive-aggressive, depressed weatherman to a kind-hearted man who, through his ambiguous amount of time in the Groundhog Day loop, learns to appreciate the smaller things in life or rather, the smaller towns and the intricacies of their citizens. And this time loop brilliantly facilitates this transformation. Phil goes from paranoia to joyriding to suicide to eventual acceptance of his situation, becoming a better person for the people of Punxsutawney.
Secondly, Harold Ramis' role as director and main screenplay writer means the time loop concept is pushed to its absolute breaking point. In contrast, in 'Back To The Future', the concept of time travel is explored, but it feels like it could have been pushed a bit further. But 'Groundhog Day' finely examines and cherry picks from the whole spectrum of "What would you do if you essentially had infinite time to play with (or more accurately, to get trapped in)?"
There's also a surprisingly sweet love story between Phil and his producer Rita that, despite him technically only knowing her for less than a day, he comes to understand her intimately and acutely.
Lastly, there is a surprising amount of clever symbolism and shot composition. For example, the opening shot of the same cumulus clouds rolling past in shot after shot foreshadows both Phil's job as a weatherman and the time loop that is to come. Or how about the "snow shovel man" who we see in the background of a shot where Phil is making a phone call only for him to come in and whack Phil in the head with said shovel? The film is littered with many of these cunningly well-placed visual gags as well as a vast array of sharp witted verbal jokes.
To put it simply, Harold Ramis' assured direction and pure imaginative talent makes 'Groundhog Day' an exemplary example of how to make a superbly engaging film out of a deceptively simple idea - through compelling character development, unmatched creativity, quick wit and carefully crafted visuals.