Movie Review: "About Time" (2013)

Movie: "About Time"
Director: Richard Curtis
Rating: R
Running Time: 2 hours, 3 minutes

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On his 21st birthday, Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) learns from his father (Bill Nighy) that the men in his family have the ability to travel back in time, as long as they are in a dark place with their fists clenched tight. Upon learning this, Tim goes into his new-found time travel with the intention of finding love, and having that be the center of his life. He meets Mary (Rachel McAdams) and after a few blunders, gets their love just right. Tim must find a way to balance changing the past with minimal impact on the future.

I blame Rachel McAdams for giving women everywhere unrealistic expectations about love.

This movie has a nice fantasy/sci-fi twist on the typical romantic dramedy. It doesn't only deal with the romantic love between Tim and Mary. It also has platonic love, focusing on the relationship between Tim and his dad, as well as Tim and his sister, Kit Kat (Lydia Wilson). The theme of family runs throughout the movie. Bill Nighy is perfect. We really enjoyed the father and son dynamic between dad and Tim.

It also focuses on the question of changing the past and what you would do if you could do it all over again. There is a fine line between changing the future, relishing in the past, and trying to find happiness by making each day count only once. In a realistic way, Tim makes plenty of mistakes, but in an unrealistic way, he has the ability to go back and change said mistakes until he corrects them. He finds that some mistakes, even with all of his abilities, cannot be undone.

We like the fact that Gleeson is not your typical Rachel McAdams romantic leading man: he is a very average looking guy and is a charming goofball. McAdams always does well in a dramedy setting, so she was cute and good. Another thing I loved about this movie was its soundtrack.

This movie is cute, but witty, and manages to make audiences think about the lives they are leading and shows that you don't need to have the ability to travel in time to make the most of each day.

My Rating: 8/10
BigJ's Rating: 7/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 65%
Do we recommend this movie: Sure, why not?