“All the time travel in the world won’t make somebody love you”
Before I say anything about this adorable movie that left me taking an extra moment to look at the trees and breathe in the air a little longer this morning, let me just say About Time is the best hour and a half I’ve had at the theater since, uhhh, I can’t even remember. And what would you do with your time? That is, if you could travel through it. ONLY under the circumstances however that you could return to every moment leading up to that specific point. Confused? You should be.
Richard Curtis’ (Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral) latest audacious work explores time travel unlike any movie I’ve ever seen (there’s no weird Trekkie stuff, don’t worry.) Tim (Domhnall Gleeson), a die-hard romantic who just so happens to be gifted with time travel at the young age of 21, wants to find himself a lover (he doesn’t have the best of luck). In fact, he’ll even sacrifice using his amazing gift in exchange for the perfect life with the right woman.
Not as easy as you might think. Despite being able to travel time there’s always some misfortune that causes him to have to re-travel back to a certain point to ensure his desirous future. Meaning: when Tim travels back in time, he is who he was at that point but still has all the previous knowledge from the future, giving him an overwhelming advantage against the people in his life (read that again and you’ll get it, promise.)
One night Tim and his friend go to a dinner in the dark type-date where they end up being paired with two pretty girls Mary (Rachel McAdams) and Joanna (Vanessa Kirby). Mary and Tim fall for each other immediately afterwards, but due to an eager traveling Tim he accidentally goes back to a time where he doesn’t yet have Mary’s phone number. But via a series of obstacles and remembering Mary adores Kate Moss, Tim makes his way back to his lady.
There’s a constant thread of Tim’s close relationship with his retired father (the always amazing Bill Nighy) throughout, and he is always making a point to visit to dad on the seaside for some father/son ping-pong or a brief conversation about Hemingway—adding a touching familial element to the story that really resonates.
About Time is the most romantic movie ever told about time travel and will have you pondering the complexities of it all as you try to keep up with Tim throughout his travels. And whether or not you sympathize with him or not, Gleeson never fails to play his part.
(photo via Ryl Phenomenon)
