How many people missed About Time when it was released in 2013? It seems to be a lot, and many more skip past it when it appears in the search results in their on demand service. Written off by many as simply another rom-com from "that Four Weddings guy", what you really get is a charming, imaginative oddity of a film, that creatively commingles a sci-fi premise with a tender story about romance, family, and the progression of life. It’s one of the most original movies that has come around in many a year and really deserves more recognition than it has ever received. It also features a first rate cast including Domhnall Gleeson, Rachael McAdams, Bill Nighy, Lydia Wilson, Lindsay Duncan, Richard Cordery, Margot Robbie, and Tom Hollande.
About Time has an interesting premise about time travel that is eloquently conjoined with the love story. It's part science fiction, part romance, and part comedy, and it finds a great balance for them all as none of the aspects outshines the other over the course of the two hours. The movie is also accentuated by a nice soundtrack that really sets the mood, leaving you with an extremely heartwarming story about fulfillment and enjoying one’s life.
About Time is really a testament to love in all forms; family, romance, and life itself. The movie is comprised of a number of tender moments, and connects with a number of relationships that involve multiple aspects of love and life; from father to son, husband to wife, and among siblings. But it isn’t simply a love story. Whilst it is billed as a romance, it is far deeper than just your average boy meets girl rom-com.
In addition to the heartwarming aspects of the movie, About Time has some extremely good comedic moments. The movie’s best ones are comprised of the number of uncomfortable moments for Tim (Domhnall Gleeson), they make for great humor as each feel genuine and are very relatable for those who have ever felt overwhelmed when meeting our “other” of the opposite sex for the first time.
Domhnall Gleeson handles the role of Tim to near perfection, his performance draws you right into the fabric of the story. He’s perfectly cast as that underwhelming guy who nobody pays attention to. In addition to Gleeson, Bill Nighy is impeccably charming in his supporting role as Tim's father. Nighy is the real gem of the movie, he's every bit as charming as the film itself and his depiction of “Dad” is one of the better supporting roles you’ll ever see. Rachael McAdams has a few good moments but although she is the female lead this is Gleeson's film and so About Time does not feel like one of her strongest performances.
With so many redundant rom-com stories out there, About Time is a very refreshing take on the genre. It’s one of the more human stories that you will ever come across, and has easily become one of my favorite romance films because of how relatable the movie was for me. It didn't seem to get that much publicity or recognition on its release in 2013 but I'd urge you to check it out as it is clearly a classic in the making, and an absolute must see for anyone who loves a good uplifting film with a splattering of sci-fi.
Da’Mon Guy is a writer and artist. He’s a graduate of Coppin State University and an avid, life-long lover of film. Da'Mon has been actively writing movie reviews since 2011, for a number of publications. Check out more of his work at Examiner.com, where he has published over 400 reviews. Visit his Blog and follow him on Twitter.
