I haven’t watched a movie in quite a while in which I laughed out loud and cried so hard, but About Time touched my heart strings so powerfully.
Photo Source: IMDb
This movie is more that just a love story between Tim (played by Domhnall Gleeson) and Mary (played by Rachel McAdams). It is a story about the love between a father and son, as well as the loving bond between a brother and sister.
Photo Source: blogs.lanacion.com.ar
“Tim: I always knew we were a fairly odd family. First there was me. Too tall, too skinny, too orange. My mum was lovely, but not like other mums. There was something solid about her. Something rectangular, busy and unsentimental. Her fashion icon was the queen. Dad, well, he was more normal. He always seemed to have time on his hands. After giving up teaching university students on his 50th birthday, he was eternally available for a leisurely chat or to let me win at table tennis.
Tim: And then there was mum’s brother, Uncle Desmond. Always impeccably dressed. He spent the days just, well, being Uncle Desmond. He was the most charming and least clever man you could ever meet. His mind was on other things, though we never found out what. And then, finally there was Catherine. Katie. Kit Kat. My sister. In a household of sensible jackets and haircuts there was this, well, what can I call her – nature thing. With her elfin eyes, her purple T-shirts and her eternally bare feet. She was then, and still is to me, about the most wonderful thing in the world.
Tim: All in all it was a pretty good childhood. Full of repeated rhythms and patterns. By the time I was 21, we were still having tea on the beach every single day. Skimming stones and eating sandwiches, summer and winter, no matter what the weather.
[all laughing]
Tim: And every Friday night a film, no matter what the weather. And then once a year, the dreaded New Year’s Eve party…” (Source: IMDb)
When Tim turns 21, his dad (played by Bill Nighy) tells him that all the men in the family can travel in time and change what happens and has happened in his own life. After one New Years’s Eve party, he is rejected by his first love, Charlotte (played by Margot Robbie). He then decides to change up his life by moving to the city and finding a girlfriend.
Enter Mary. They meet after a chance encounter at a restaurant where it is completely dark. Tim and Mary agree to meet outside, in the evening street lights, and officially meet. Tim is awkward at first, but secures her phone number. Their love story begins here, and is full of funny and wonderful moments.
Photo Source: connectwithyourteens.com
The other relationship that is important to Tim is the one with his sister, Kit Kat (played by Lydia Wilson). He loves her so much that he travels back in time to change her circumstances in life, helping her to avoid a particularly bad relationship. There is a twist to this storyline that I won’t give away, just in case you decide to watch this movie. But in the end, both he and Mary help Kit Kat and provide her with the support and love she needs.
And finally, the most important relationship storyline in this movie, in my opinion, is that between Tim and his dad.
Photo Source: Time
The on-screen chemistry of Bill Nighy and Domhnall Gleeson is powerful and palpable. As father and son, their relationship is honest and sincere. Whether they are skipping rocks at the beach, sharing tea, or playing table tennis, you can feel the mutual love and respect. I also love how Tim travels back in time to ask his father for advice.
“Tim: And so he told me his secret formula for happiness. Part one of the two part plan was that I should just get on with ordinary life, living it day by day, like anyone else.
Tim: But then came part two of Dad’s plan. He told me to live every day again almost exactly the same. The first time with all the tensions and worries that stop us noticing how sweet the world can be, but the second time noticing. Okay, Dad. Let’s give it a go.” (Source: IMDb)
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About Time was written and directed by Richard Curtis, who also directed Love Actually (another one of my faves, also starring Bill Nighy).
If you’re not in the mood for a tear-jerker, then maybe you should watch Love Actually. But if you want to watch a feel-good, laugh-out-loud, romantic comedy, tear-jerker movie, then I recommend About Time.
There is a lesson to be learned from this movie, which is to live every day to the fullest and to build a special bond with your family.
Have a great day!