About Time Movie Review (2013)
A delightful romantic comedy, About Time, about a man with a close-knit family where the ability to time-travel runs in the male genes, has wonderful hidden depths.
Have you ever seen a movie poster so many times that you believed that you’d seen the movie? Like one of those stories that you’ve heard someone else tell so many times that you start having fake memories of being there yourself? I have believed for years that I had watched this film, but I realized that I couldn’t quite remember the plot or the actors past the two leads. Yeah, that’s because I never watched it!
About Time centers around Tim, an awkward young man with a tight-knit family, all of whom are a little quirky. After an incredibly awkward New Year’s Eve party, Tim’s dad reveals to Tim that the men in his family can actually time-travel back to redo situations they’d rather have turned out differently. Tim moves to London to be a lawyer, frequently traveling back in time when embarrassing things happen or to help someone else, and he ultimately meets and is heavily taken with shy import Mary. But in trying to fix a situation for a friend, that first meeting with Mary never happened, so now he has to find her and figure out how to court her.
This is a really lovely film. The characters are charming and fleshed out, the story keeps you engaged, and it made me both laugh and cry.
There is a fantastically likeable cast with Bill Nighy, Domhnall Gleeson, and Rachel McAdams as the leads, but you also see Margot Robbie and – as a complete shock to me – Vanessa Kirby in small roles. I watched the entire movie before looking at the cast list, and I had to do some Google searching to figure out what character Vanessa Kirby played in the film (it’s a smaller role, but still). She is such a queen (Napoleon, The Fantastic Four: First Steps) that I never thought she could go unidentified that way.
Director Richard Curtis maintains a very similar tone in this film as he has in his other beloved films, like Love Actually and Notting Hill. He also clearly enjoys working with the same actors on different projects, but if I could cast Bill Nighy in every film I watched, I would do the same thing.
The messaging of About Time is often subtle, but sometimes as glaring as a headlight. Appreciate what you have when you have it because, whether you can go back in time and change things or not, every little moment matters. And also, changing things doesn’t necessarily make them better. You have to work with what you have been given.
About Time is a sweet and quirky movie that will make you smile, reach you emotionally, and keep you interested all the way through. And you will definitely remember if you’ve watched it (now I can be sure!) because it is a super enjoyable experience.
Runtime: 123 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: R
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes
Did I Cry? Yep, sure did
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
Available: To rent on Prime Video or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
