About Love, About Life, About Loss
by Hunter Isham
I'm a sucker for a sappy movie, even more so when it's a funny and playful one. Writer/director Richard Curtis brings the same warmth and charm he gave to Notting Hill and Love Actually to his newest creation, the time-travelling romantic comedy About Time. The film's trailers it paint as your typical time travel rom-com (or at least as you'd picture one to be), and seemingly give away the entire plot. The benefit of that every-so-slightly science fiction-y element of the story is that you have to expect the unexpected, and while About Time may hit too many familiar and predictable beats to satisfy the more jaded members of the audience, there's certainly more to it than meets the eye.
The film begins as the awkward yet goodhearted Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) turns 21, when his father (Billy Nighy) informs him that all the men in their family have the ability to travel in time. Specifically, they can travel within the events in their own lives that they have experienced, lest the film turn into Back to the Future. Tim decides to use his gift to get a girlfriend, and so the events of the film are set in motion. He begins to grasp how and when he should use his powers, and what kind of effects they have on his life. Tim eventually meets Mary (Rachel McAdams), the beautiful girl that he instantly loves. But then he meets her again... and again. Curtis plays with time casually to great effect in a way that made Groundhog Day so fast and funny with its ability to revisit and revise the events of its story.
About Time also successfully borrows its formula from that excellent Bill Murray film in that it disguises itself as one kind of movie while it becomes another. Groundhog Day is a fantasy comedy that develops into a romantic comedy with fantastic elements, meanwhile making a point about how to live each and every day to its fullest. Curtis' film delivers the pathos halfway through as About Time settles its romantic elements and asks questions about life in general. So what if you can make your love life perfect by repeating it until it's just right? What about everything else? How do you help and hurt the people you love? What sacrifices do you make? All of these questions are factored into how Tim approaches his experiences from day to day, turning About Time from a romantic comedy with an interesting premise into a comedy/drama that wants you to cherish every moment.
Much of this unexpected depth comes from the dynamic developed between Nighy and Gleeson as a wonderful onscreen father/son pair. The former is always cool, funny, and ready to help his son, while the latter is always eager to learn and share a fun game of table tennis with his old man. Their bonding feels real, and their relationship is the heart of the film. Gleeson excels in these scenes, but he truly shines as he sets out to conquer the world of romance with his new found abilities. He's charmingly goofy and clumsy, and his personality carries the film's premise a long way, helping us to accept the time travel conceit without a concrete explanation for its existence. Rachel McAdams is similarly perfect for her role as she is once again smart, funny, and just about as adorable as a person can be. She and Gleeson have excellent chemistry, and it's readily apparent why he should go through all the trouble with the timey wimey stuff to get the woman of his dreams. The two lovebirds, along with the comically sublime Nighy, perfectly anchor About Time, making sure the clichés don't rob the film of its heart.
The few sins that Curtis' film does commit—it's a little on the long side, and there's no denying that it can be a bit on the nose—are swept away by the utter charm (there's that word again) and wit of the whole thing. If you're like me, and you enjoy movies on the sweeter side, then you'll probably love this one. Balanced by a wry sense of humor (Tom Hollander is excellent as Tim's hilariously bitter landlord) and a deeper understanding of life than you'd expect, About Time brushes past its average contemporaries with ease. Twenty years ago, Groundhog Day became a modern classic by digging for profundity where no one expected it, and Richard Curtis' film follows in its footsteps in the best way possible. A meditation on love, life, and loss, About Time recognizes that there's more to romance than simply falling in love and living happily ever after. 9/10
