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8.8/10
FilmFascination Rating
“About Time” is one of those movies which has helped me in my life to go through situations I am afraid to be in and has also taught me to enjoy the beauty of little things in life. Rom-Com king Richard Curtis brings to us this beautiful movie. In the film, we get a quirky concept, a delightful setting, a romantic relationship, some sentimental scenes that will get you teary, and an unusually fascinating yet beautiful message.
Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson) gets to know about a little secret from his dad (Bill Nighy) on his 21st birthday. The men in his family can travel in time. But his dad makes it clear – you can just travel in your past life. You cannot go in the future or even in the past and try to stop the World Wars. Now when you get to know that you have this special power, what would you do? Bring in some extra time in your life to obtain money and fame? Relive the moments you mess up in life? Try to make your life into this perfect tale? Avoid regret of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities you get – may it be meeting that girl you want to spend the rest of your life with, making up with people you have somehow lost contact with, or may it be your career.
The movie does it all. It explores the concept to the fullest and has fun with it. James discourages Tim from using this gift to acquire fame or money, as his ancestors who did the same failed miserably in life. So, Tim decides to use this skill to improve his love life. Some of the scenes in this journey of Tim are genuinely funny (he gets rejected by the love of his life even after trying several times) and sometimes even nostalgic. As the movie progresses it turns out to be emotionally engaging. Especially the fact that Tim is shown to be a normal boy makes us put ourselves in his place and wonder how our life would have been if we had this superpower. Everything is really well thought out and executed just as well.
One of the most beautiful things in the movie is the father-son relationship between Tim and James. They are offbeat, funny, and heartwarming. For those of us with an existential habit of thought, the theme of lost, unrecoverable time with loved ones, especially our parents, hits very hard. This movie aims at that sore spot and does so in a beautiful and painful way. Such scenes just feel like a hug.
For all the odd naughtiness and familiar hesitant one-liners, the movie tends to sometimes pull you towards tearfulness and you’d have to be pretty hard-hearted not to succumb to the glimpses of a wonderful life captured in the quiet moments shared by Nighy and Gleeson – the true romance at the heart of this drama. From experiencing love, making tough life decisions and accepting unavoidable fate, we see Tim growing from wanting a girlfriend to becoming a mature man who takes care of his family and at times also goes out of his way to make things right for everyone. It is wonderful to see how Tim never changes as a person but progresses into a better one.
Gleeson’s intelligence and crack timing cannot be denied, especially in his scenes with the wonderful Nighy. Simple scenes like playing table tennis and that wonderful beach walk between them show the bonding between them to the extent that we start thinking about our relationship with our dad. Even Rachel McAdams (Mary-Tim’s love interest), Tom Hollander (an eccentric stage play director), Richard Cordery (Uncle Desmond), and Joshua McGuire (Rory) have played memorable characters. Some of whom you might have even seen in your life.
When Curtis was eating lunch with a friend, the subject of happiness came up. Upon admitting he was not truly happy in his life, the conversation turned towards him describing an ideal day. Curtis over time realized that the day of the lunch, for him, constituted such a day. This led him to write a film about “how you achieve happiness in ordinary life”.
Something about Curtis’s films allows cinematic endorphins to be released into the brain and generate a euphoria akin to absolute bliss. For all its flaws, the film has been delivered terrifically. Even the soundtracks of the movie add to the bliss the movie sends. May it be ‘The Luckiest’ by Ben Folds, ‘How long will I love you’ by Jon Boden, or ‘Il Mondo’ by Jimmy Fontana. They just do wonders in their own way in the film.
But above all, what makes the movie close to my heart is not just wondering how life would have been if I had this gift, but is actually the beautiful message it gives at the end that can be embodied in our normal life. It has become a movie I like to visit once in a while just to remind myself to cherish those little things that make this world a sweet place to live in, which our tiny mind tends to ignore in all its tensions and worries.
Favourite Quotes
Tim: [voiceover] We’re all traveling through time together, every day of our lives. All we can do is do our best to relish this remarkable ride.
Tim: What do you think of her?
Dad: I like her more than you already.
Tim: [voiceover] Lesson Number One: All the time traveling in the world can’t make someone love you.
Tim: [voiceover] There’s a song by Baz Luhrmann called Sunscreen. He says worrying about the future is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life will always be things that never crossed your worried mind.
Tim: [voiceover] No one can ever prepare you for what happens when you have a child. When you see the baby in your arms and you know that it’s your job now. No one can prepare you for the love and the fear.
Tim: Mum, this is Mary.
Mum: Mary! Good Lord, you’re pretty.
Mary: Oh, no. It’s just… I’ve got a lot of mascara and lipstick on.
Mum: Let’s have a look.
Mary: [presents her face]
Mum: Oh, yes. Good. It’s very bad for a girl to be too pretty. It stops her developing a sense of humor. Or a personality.
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