About Time

Today I decided to boost the British cinema economy by going to the cinema for the first time not as a student with my mother today to see About Time written and directed by Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually) and stars Domhnall Gleeson (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Never Let Me Go), Rachel McAdams (The Time Traveler's Wife, The Notebook), and Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Pirates of the Caribbean).

About Time is a British romantic comedy with a science fiction twist that revolves around Tim Lake (Gleeson) who discovers from his father (Nighy) that the men in his family can travel through their own timeline. At first Tim doesn't believe him but when told to put this trick to the test (close your eyes, ball up your fists and concentrate on that moment), Tim is ecstatic to discover that he can really go back in time. Now the question is what will he use this amazing gift: get rich, find love, read everything book twice? Well what a British rom-com be without a lovely young man bumbling his way around trying to woo an equally lovely young lady (McAdams).

I warn you now there are minor spoilers in this review though I will try to keep them to a minimum.

Rating: 10

Recommended To: Rom-Com lovers; Richard Curtis lovers

Favourite Characters: Tim - he's adorable; Dad - like father, like son

Favourite Line: Tim: Never trust a blueberry

Favourite Part: When Tim is bickering with his dad that time travel is not true

Good Points: Gleeson; more family orientated than The Time Traveler's Wife; Tim's relationships with both his family and Mary; the settings

Bad Points: Could have had a British actress for Mary; reintroducing the first girl that broke Tim's heart, Charlotte

The moment I saw the cast list for this film I was hooked; though Domhnall Gleeson is relatively unknown in comparison to Rachel McAdams and Bill Nighy, I wanted to see him in a starring role because it would be interesting to see him in a more leading role.

I thought Domhnall Gleeson was incredible as Tim; everything a British Rom-Com man should be - sweet, slightly clumsy and awkward, and charming.  These traits made him endearing and as an audience member, I immediately felt for him and was behind him all the way as he bumbled his way through the world of romance and fell in love with Rachel McAdams's Mary and built a life with her.  Unfortunately, comparisons can be drawn between Gleeson's performance and Hugh Grant's previous Rom-Com performances, who appeared a number of times in other films by Richard Curtis because they both seem to fumble slightly when speaking to someone of the opposite sex in crucial moments of their developing relationships; when Grant is playing the protagonist, he is often endearing as he occasionally messes something up along the way in typical Rom-Com style while most of the time, he appears more suave while Gleeson is more charming on a clumsy, quirky level, he is more my cup of tea because he just seems odd in comparison, hanging out with his barmy friend, Jay, and is incredibly close to his family and willing to make a fool of himself with them.  For his lead role, Gleeson has got my vote as the lead and I can't wait for him to pop up in something else, hopefully as the star again.

Almost immediately, comparisons can be drawn between About Time and The Time Traveler's Wife because they are both fit in the genres of romance and science fiction because it is about a time traveller (Gleeson in the former and Eric Bana in the latter) who uses his ability to fall in love with the girl of his dreams (Rachel McAdams in both cases), though About Time falls into the romantic-comedy genre with the light hearted humour that is dispersed through the film.  However, in my opinion, About Time is more family-orientated as Tim's family, as well as his friends, play a big part in his life and appear to be extremely important to him while The Time Traveler's Wife just focuses on Henry's relationship with Clare, the wife.  This is one of the main reasons I love this film because family appears to be incredibly important to Tim as he spends time with them and looks to be enjoying himself when he's spending time with any member of his family which is great and implies there is an importance of family and the closeness that comes with that in this film, no matter how annoying they may be.

I love how Tim is with his family, friends, and Mary.  Everyone is so close and cares about one another; it's the perfect picture of family and a personal life that I want and implies how important these relationships are to Tim as well as those around him.  If it wasn't for his father's family, Tim wouldn't be able to time travel and he wouldn't have learnt how to control it; with the importance of family, there could be an implication that Tim will go on to teach other males in the family this wonderful gift, if there are any and he feels comfortable enough to do so.  I adore how Tim and Mary are; she's the more down to earth one as he messes up and bumbles around which could annoy her, and it's clear they fit together well and complement one another, bringing out their greatest traits, his loyalty and her love.

The locations for this film, in particular the Cornwall locations where Tim's family live, are amazing and the view is spectacular; it is exactly what I imagine when I think of the beach in Britain, excluding all of the annoying children running around and kicking up the sand.  This film really highlights the beauty of the English seaside and the quirkiness of London for me; the different locations really show other countries that London isn't the only place in England and how different this place is.

I absolutely adore Rachel McAdams and have done in every film I've seen her in because of the way she plays the characters and would watch anything she is in but it just seems strange to me that they cast her in the role of Mary, the love interest of the British protagonist, Tim, it could have worked with her being Scottish, Welsh, or Irish because it's not really explained why she's in London while we have plenty of talented actresses over here to choose from and would not overshadow the protagonist.  However, I do understand on an industry reason why they cast a Canadian actress who is popular in America in the role of the love interest as it would draw more appeal over in the States as well as over here in Britain; this is much like casting Philip Seymour Hoffman as one of the radio DJs in The Boat That Rocked (AKA Pirate Radio in the States).  If someone else had been cast in place of Rachel McAdams, people might be less likely to compare this film to The Time Traveler's Wife which also starred McAdams as the love interest to the time traveller as it is one of the biggest things the two films have in common.

When Tim's first love was reintroduced and there was the slightest hint of a love triangle between Tim, Mary, and Charlotte, my exact words during my note taking were "Oh no!  A love triangle!  BAD TIM!!!" because we can see that he loves Mary and that's what he wants, someone to love.  He is one of the sweetest character and for Curtis to even imply a possibility of Tim cheating on Mary is horrendous because he is just such a lovely guy.

Some reviews that I have read basically accuse the English to be sexually repressed, basing their judgement on films such as this, but one thing I love about Richard Curtis is though he addresses love and relationships within his films and sex is implied in a number of ways, they also have a focus on something else; for me, this film focused on Tim and his family, biological and marital.  If it weren't for his father's genes, he wouldn't be able to travel in time and wouldn't have met Mary.  So yes, there isn't a scene where Tim and Mary are getting hot and heavy, this film has more meaning to it than romance; there is a family behind both of these two as well as a story which needs to be explored because there are more important things in life other than sex.

A lesson can be learnt from Tim's story and one of his last lines sums it up really well.

Relish this remarkable ride - Tim

Live your life in the moment, don't look backwards - regretting your mistakes - and enjoy every moment you have been given because we don't know how long we've got.

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