'About Time' - Movie Review

If there are only two things that writer-director Richard Curtis does exceptionally, it's laugh-out-loud British comedy and heart-felt romance. About Time brings the Curtis magic, just give Four Weddings And A Funeral, Notting Hill, or my favourites - Love Actually and The Boat That Rocked, a try. He's got a recipe and it works. Yet, what might interest you about this newest rom-com-with-style-and-class is that the story doesn't centre around the time travel gimmick, or the 'Rachel McAdams meets a lanky ginger' gimmick, which we are hilariously introduced to in the trailer. About Time goes deeper. To quote Shrek, it's got "layers". The time travel element is primarily used to bring about the depth of family relationships... and the importance of living life as it's meant to be lived.

So it turns out that time travel is a genetic thing. No one tell Dr Emmet Brown, I'm not sure he'd be able to stomach the news. We are given wind of this groundbreaking truth at the beginning of the film, when the loveable, "I want him to be my Dad", Dad (Bill Nighy) tells his son, Tim (Domnhall Gleeson), that the men of the family are able to travel back in time. What follows is a particularly enjoyable philosophic and moralistic discussion between father and (disbelieving) son on what this ability has meant for the men in the Lake family. Of course, Tim thinks his Dad has gone batty; that is until he creeps into a closet and attempts to travel back in time to an unfortunate New Year's Eve party. Henceforth, our introduction to the time-travel rom-com is hilariously understandable.

What makes About Time all the more funny, though, is the fact that Tim and his family are quirky yet unimportant. Unimportant in the sense that you and I can relate to them. This established connection is an old Curtis trick, and it goes a long way to make About Time personable and memorable. What Curtis also does, which he does in all his films, is introduce a plethora of interesting supporting characters. From Tim's eccentric and tragic sister Kit-Kat (a believable and perfectly cast Lydia Wilson), to the family's aloof and darling "Uncle D" (Richard Cordery), who has one of the more precious moments towards the end of the film. The cast and characters outside of the family are just as colourful, hilarious and well developed.

Tom Hollander is pure British gold as the tortured playwright who just can't get his head out of his own arse (not the be confused with an 'ass'). But, as British as Tom Hollander's Harry is, the devastatingly wet - and piss your pants funny - wedding scene is even more so. It's been some time since I've heard such laughter in a cinema! I'd have to go all the way back to 2007, when Death At A Funeral (UK version) made its rounds. The wedding from hell? Not at all. I recall my engagement party taking place on a wet and windy day. If only I had this couple's disposition! It is a joyous scene to behold.

It's a pleasure to have gone from Thor: The Dark World, where characters are as undercooked as a vegetarian's salad, to About Time, where we actually experience the growth and progression we often yearn for in ourselves. With that said, what is it with Curtis and American leading ladies? Think about it... Julia Roberts come to mind? You have to give it to Curtis, though, he's nabbed the most delightful Yank going round in Rachel McAdams. She's become the quirky yet loveable girl of rom-coms. And while she has the same fringe in 'The Vow', she is considerably more interesting wearing it here.

Domnhall Gleeson succeeds as the awkward and lanky British version of Woody Allen, doesn't he? Although, one wonders, if Curtis was able to make Hugh Grant appear physically younger, would the director have gone with the typecast Brit? The role has Hugh written all over it, with Gleeson drawing similarities throughout. Regardless, Gleeson ups his game and makes this his own, going from the pimple-pup to a father who has to make tough decisions. There is one lingering question, isn't Tim's relationship with the unsuspecting Rachel McAdams (who knows all about being a Time Traveller's Wife) built on lies and deception? And while we are posing questions, aren't the Butterfly Effect-esque laws behind this time travel completely baffling by the end? Perhaps it is best that we take the advice given in the film and not dwell on misgivings?

About Time is hilarious, touching and also frightening. (The fright comes in the eating-in-complete-darkness-with-strangers dinner scene... wasn't that done in one of the Saw movies?) It's refreshing to see a Curtis film that centres heavily on a father-and-son relationship, rather than losing itself in a cliché romance. The cast delivers and the British charm, humour and wit are on show for all us "smug bastards".

7.5/10