FILMS… About Time (2013)

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About that oft time traveller’s wife…

 

An original tale about time travel, true love and the importance of family.

 

With on screen dad…

Tim and Mary

About Time Official Trailer #1 (2013) – Rachel McAdams Movie HD, Movieclips Trailers and pHOTOs © Universal Pictures

 

If you played “Chuck, Rent or Keep” for Rachel McAdams time travelling movies. I’d chuck Midnight in Paris (2011) with her time traveller fiancé Owen Wilson. It may be a fantastic, original Woody Allen film, but I keep expecting co-star Michael Sheen to go full tilt Tony Blair in his scenes with Rachel.

I’d rent The Time Traveller’s Wife (2009) – which I  still haven’t seen (shock! horror!) – as has the presence of the lovely voiced Time Traveller, Eric Bana who has a voice as smooth as chocolate. But without doubt, this film, About Time (2013) is the keeper, for at least three reasons.. the almost giddy chemistry between McAdams and Donmhall Gleeson, Tom Hollander’s portrayal of Harry and the presence of that wonderful British actor, Bill Nighy.

About Time is partly narrated from the start by Gleeson as Tim. Tim introduces us to his close-knit but crazy family, his mother (Lindsay Duncan), his father (Bill Nighy) and his free-spirited sister, Kit Kat (Lydia Wilson). And his forgetful Uncle (Richard Cordery).

He tells us of their life and almost too idyllic life in Cornwall, living in a house next to the sea. However, Tim’s life changes one New Year’s Day after a New Year’s Eve party where after a wee boogie, he misses a snog with his hopeful dance partner. On New Year’s Day, his father sits him down to tell him that he’s inherited a gene that allows him to time travel.

With Nighy acting in his own much-loved, eccentric uncle persona – but in this case father – way. It was hard to know if it was him improvising or it was the script… But on research, it’s damned good writing from Richard Curtis, who worked with Nighy three times before this. Anyway, his father adds all his male ancestors have time travelled before him, and that his father can too. However, he can only travel to places and times he’s been to before.

Believing his dad to be joking with him – and tbh who can blame him after this crazy explanation – he follows his father’s instructions for time travel – of going to a dark place, clenching his fists and wishing for a certain time and place – and hey presto! He’s back at the party, so he snogs his dance partner and then returns to his father. He decides after some fatherly advice to use his new-found talents to find true love.

It comes, that summer with Kit Kat’s friend staying in the shape of Charlotte (Margot Robbie). However, after he makes a pass at her on her last night she rebuffs him saying things might have been different if he’d tried earlier. He tries, with the help of a wee bit of time travelling, but no luck… now she’s saying the opposite! Tim then accepts Charlotte wasn’t meant to be…

After the summer Tim moves to London, moving in with a friend of his father’s. His new housemate is Harry, a jaded, bitter and permanently cynical playwright. Think of Harry as similar to Alan Rickman in Galaxy Quest (1999) or Die Hard (1988) to get an idea. Tim then goes out with his friend Jay who visits him and the two go to a “Dans le Noir” restaurant. This means that they dine with their dates in the dark, so they can’t see who they are dining with until after the meal.

Their dates are Joanna (Vanessa Kirby) and Mary (Rachel McAdams). Mary and Tim hit it off, and afterwards, he meets her outside and they both are smitten, however, he goes home jubilant to find that Harry’s opening night was a failure. Without thinking he goes back in time and I scream at the telly.

While he makes sure Harry’s night goes well, he then finds out he does not have Mary’s number on his phone. Turns out he had been helping out Harry – instead of meeting her – so his life changed. Luckily our hero remembers Mary likes Kate Moss so he camps out at an exhibition devoted to Moss in the hope of meeting her.

Then after a great wee montage, he spots her… So does Tim get the girl this time or does something completely different happen… I will tell you this is not the last we will see of all of the characters mentioned previously. Also as Tim’s true love story is told, the story adds a further storyline where we see much more of his relationship with his family, in particular his father.

There is of course more time travelling with and without a few more twists too. So what else can I tell you? The montages are original and the soundtrack is apt and chosen well, it often is played alongside an appearance from those singing it. An excellent example is a montage set at the station which has the soundtrack sung by the band masquerading as buskers.

Gleeson is excellent in his role, and McAdams is perfect and a joy to watch. She makes her character fun, supportive and likeable, and her on-screen chemistry with all the actors is delightfully enchanting. She is so believable in this role, much more than her character in Moonlight in Paris and Mean Girls (2004).  Her on-screen scenes with Gleeson almost feel like you are watching a couple on reality TV without them knowing.

They are relaxed and have rapport, their lines bounce back and forth so animatedly like the more successful ping-pong matches Tim plays with his father. Gleeson’s scenes with Nighy and the rest of the cast are equally delightful. It is hard to decide who steals the show more as each character is portrayed beautifully and the storylines are told well.

About Time has been compared to Groundhog Day (1993), which I feel is unjust as it is Tim’s choice to return to specific places in time. In Groundhog Day, Bill Murray’s character has no such choice. Rachel McAdams is to time travelling films, what Matt Damon is to being rescued.

In three of her movies – as mentioned previously. she falls in love with a man, not just any man but a time-travelling one. But judging from her portrayal of a loving, supportive girl in this movie Rachel McAdams has proved this is her kinda role with this timely performance.

 

Weeper Rating:  😦 😦 😦 😦 😦 😦 😦 😦/10

Handsqueeze Rating:  🙂 🙂  🙂🙂 🙂  🙂 /10

Hulk Rating: ‎ ‎   ‎/10

 

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The O’ Canada Blogathon 2017, No 2

This film was reviewed for the O’ Canada! Blogathon run by Ruth of Silver Screenings and Kristina of Speakeasy. Other reviews on this site with this cast include,

• Starter for 10 with Lindsay Duncan
• Domnhall Gleeson stars in Star Wars  VII The Force Awakens and Ex Machina.
• Rachel McAdams stars in The Time Traveler’s Wife and The Notebook.
• Tom Hollander in Bohemian Rhapsody.
• Bill Nighy stars in Hot Fuzz and Canterbury Tales.
• Vanessa Kirby in The Crown.

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