Plot
At the age of 21, Tim discovers he can travel in time and change what happens and has happened in his own life. His decision to make his world a better place by getting a girlfriend turns out not to be as easy as you might think.
Release Year: 2013
Rating: 7.7/10 (10,552 voted)
Director:Richard Curtis
Storyline
At the age of 21, Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson) discovers he can travel in time... The night after another unsatisfactory New Year party, Tim's father (Bill Nighy) tells his son that the men in his family have always had the ability to travel through time. Tim can't change history, but he can change what happens and has happened in his own life-so he decides to make his world a better place...by getting a girlfriend. Sadly, that turns out not to be as easy as you might think. Moving from the Cornwall coast to London to train as a lawyer, Tim finally meets the beautiful but insecure Mary (Rachel McAdams). They fall in love, then an unfortunate time-travel incident means he's never met her at all. So they meet for the first time again-and again-but finally, after a lot of cunning time-traveling, he wins her heart. Tim then uses his power to create the perfect romantic proposal, to save his wedding from the worst best-man speeches, to save his best friend from professional disaster and to ...
Taglines:
A new funny film about love. With a bit of time travel.
Trivia:
This is the third movie in which Rachel McAdams stars as the love interest of a time traveler. The previous ones were The Time Traveler's Wife, in which she played the titular wife to Eric Bana's character and Midnight in Paris, in which she played the fiancée of Owen Wilson's character. See more »
Quotes:
User Review
Author:
Rating: 10/10
Initial impressions of a book, film, play, piece of music etc. can
sometimes be ill-considered. I have occasionally revised my opinion of
such a work with the passage of time. I am confident, however, that I
shall not change my view on "About Time", the sheer brilliance of which
has quite bowled me over. It's not only one of the very best films I
have seen recently. It's one of the best I have ever seen. Yes, I think
it's that good.
"About Time" is a romantic comedy about the vicissitudes of life and
love. It's witty, clever, intelligent and very funny. But it's also a
film of perhaps quite surprising depth. The centrepiece of the film is
the relationship between Tim (Domnhall Gleeson), a young lawyer living
in London, and his father (Bill Nighy), who lives with Tim's mother
(Lindsay Duncan) in Cornwall. Tim's father is able to time travel. He
cannot change history when doing so; but he can revisit past
experiences and incidents within his own life and alter their outcomes.
Tim has inherited this ability from his father (a gift which apparently
is hereditary on the male side of the family). He uses it to improve
his love life. He builds up a strong bond and a young family with Mary
(Rachel McAdams). But he soon realises that his exceptional gift does
not protect him from the normal ups and downs of family life. Indeed,
one of the most moving scenes in the film (and there are many) is a
conversation Tim has with his father on learning that the latter has
terminal cancer.
The performances, the screenplay, the direction and the soundtrack are
first class. The humour is excellent. There is one very funny scene in
which Tim nervously meets his prospective in-laws for the first time
and blurts out an admission that he and Mary do not practise oral sex.
There is also a very amusing sex scene. The soundtrack includes music
performed by The Cure, Amy Winehouse and Nick Cave. Indeed, the
featured Cave song, "Into My Arms", forms a motif for the themes
depicted in the film and gets a specific mention by Tim's father when
he is discussing his funeral arrangements with Tim.
"About Time" is a very watchable, intelligent and witty film that could
so easily have descended to mawkishness and sentimentality. But it
doesn't. It's a brilliant film that raises in the viewer's mind all
sorts of important questions about life, love and loyalty. Do go and
see it. 10/10.
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