Now that he's 21, Tim (Gleeson) learns a family secret
from his eccentric father (Nighy) that all the men in the family have the
ability to travel through time, or at least back into their own past. Whilst
out on a date, Tim meets Mary (McAdams) and is instantly smitten. Using his
newfound abilities to bring them together, Tim eventually learns that
time-travelling has its consequences.
Since emerging onto the scene in the 1980's, writer (and
later director) Richard Curtis has forged his own trademark style, specialising
in romantic comedies that focus on very British setting and characters, whether
it be in Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994), Notting Hill (2001) or Love
Actually (2003). About Time is more fantastical, given its about time travel.
But, there's still no mistaking it for anything but the work of Richard Curtis.
Curtis's usual reparatory cast is mostly absent, but Domhnall Gleeson's
befuddled shuffling brings Hugh Grant somewhat to mind. Rachel McAdams follows
the likes of Andie McDowall and Julia Roberts as the American love interest
(okay, McAdams is Canadian, but she plays an American) and in the supporting cast
we also have Lydia Wilson as the usual Curtis kooky girl and the lone Curtis
regular in the cast, Bill Nighy, at his absolute Bill Nighy-ist.
The other obvious comparison that comes with this film is
Groundhog Day (1993) given that both films use the idea of revisiting the past
and using it to correct faux-pas in courtship, but About Time is fresh enough
in its own right not to be completely written off as a clone. Curtis may be
playing it fairly safe here but he knows what he's good at and he's sticking to
his guns. All the performances are likeable even if they have been mulled over
before and the film is undeniably sweet, even if it borders on the saccharine
(such as one montage which plays out almost like a music video, complete with
close-ups of some performing buskers). As an experiment, it doesn't really
stand up because it still sticks much too close to the old formula but
regardless it is funny, charming and ultimately forgivable for not straying too
far from the well-trodden path.
Next time, a drama about the sexual underworld of 1970's
Sweden, Sofia Karemyr stars in Call Girl.
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