Review: 'About Time', Starring Domhnall Gleeson and Rachel McAdams

This film is advertised as another romantic comedy-type movie. It's easy to believe that when you see Rachel McAdams in the trailer in all her smiling glory. After all, McAdams is know for making romantic films, and this begins to allow some trepidation about the film to creep in. 

Suffice it to say that About Time is more than your average romantic film, mainly because the romantic aspect of the movie is not the focus point throughout, which is an unexpected surprise. And given that it's from the director of Love Actually and Bridget Jones's Diary, Richard Curtis is sure to keep the film's wit and charm completely intact. 

Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) is living a completely normal life. He lives on the seaside with his parents (Bill Nighy and Lindsay Duncan), sister Kit Kat (Lydia Wilson) and strange Uncle D (Richard Cordery). They go for beach picnics and are completely content in each other's company. 

After Tim turns 21, his dad drops a pretty big bombshell on him. All the men in the family can travel in time. This sounds so ridiculous that Tim thinks his dad is joking. And really, who wouldn't think their dad's joking about something like that? Time travel? Think of all the possibilities and scenarios that anyone can get themselves into. 

Humoring his father and still unbelieving, Tim tries it out. He goes to a closet in his house (because it can only work in a dark place), fists his hands and with his eyes closed, imagines a time that's passed which he'd like to revisit. 

To Tim's surprise, it actually works. He then knows exactly what he's going to be using it for: to find love. Yes, that sounds very cheesy and romantic. But when he moves to London, he spends the next few scenes in the movie trying to get his first meeting with Mary (Rachel McAdams) right. 

While Tim's busy winning and keeping Mary's heart, his sister Kit Kat is having a rough time of it in London, and the film's themes begin to make themselves known after things in Tim's life slightly tilt away from happiness. Less about romance and more about time, how wisely you use it, missed opportunities and making sure to make every moment count. 

Domhnall Gleeson, known to Harry Potter fans as eldest Weasley brother Bill, has great comedic timing. He has a very awkwardly shy charm about him and this makes him very endearing. Outside of getting the girl, Gleeson's character has a very heartwarming relationship with his father and one of the scenes near the end of the film between him and Bill Nighy tugs at the heartstrings and really brings the film full circle. 

Rachel McAdams plays a more insecure love interest this time around. She's slightly unsure of herself, but this changes as the film progresses. McAdams still shines though, as she does in these types of film, good or bad. She and Gleeson have a fun chemistry. 

There are plenty of laughs in the film. And to balance it all out, there are a lot of heartfelt moments as well. The relationships in the film are genuine, the banter witty, and the ending is sure to pull on your heartstrings a little. 

Curtis puts all the right touches to a film that begins one way and ends another. Middway through you'll start to wonder what the point is, and then it'll become clearer. The film is quite literally About Time and how it's spent, what you do with it, the relationships you forge, and the lingering memories that come with a time well spent and the significance of changing it. Charming, funny, and heartfelt.