Richard Curtis
is the writer and director of 2 other movies including one of the best RomComs
of all time – LOVE ACTUALLY. Richard Curtis has also written FOUR WEDDINGS AND
A FUNERAL, NOTTING HILL AND THE MR. BEAN SERIES. Quite a stark difference between 2 genres of
cinema / series right? But About Time is right where Richard
Curtis is great at. RomComs.
And this time
around, he chooses to add in a bit of
time travel. Tim (Domnhall
Gleeson) stays out in the country with his parents (Bill Nighy, Linsday Duncan)
and sister Kit Kat (Lydia Wilson). The
most exciting part of his life is usually a New Year’s Eve party. Even that hasn’t really qualified for the “exciting”
benchmark. Not so much for Kit Kat who is a free spirit.
Things are about
to change on Tim’s 21st birthday when his father (Nighy) tells him
that all the men in his family develop a peculiar strength. Time Travel.
Only restricted to the men in the family. Only when they turn 21. And nothing that allows them to change the
course of history. It only allows them
to impact their own lives. All they have
to do is get into a private space and think of where they want to be.
Tim goes off to
London to become a lawyer and meets Mary (Rachel McAdams) at the Café Noir – a novel
concept where you dine in the dark and cannot see who you are dining with. When he does see Mary later that night, it is
as good as love at first sight but then thanks to time travel, a comedy of
errors ensues.
Like most of his
previous movies, Richard Curtis continues to bank on a simple story with
several “meet cutes” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meet_cute). And the time travel aspect ensures that there
are actually several of them between the same 2 people – Tim & Mary. Enough to get a smile on your face more often
than not.
The typical
Richard Curtis brand of British humour will also ensure some laughs along the
way. Bill Nighy is superb as
always. A presence that automatically
ensures comic relief – sometimes even without dialogue. Most of the cast offers solid support to the
lead pair that more often than not do very well.
Domnhall Gleeson
has been called out as a natural inheritor to Curtis land by the
telegraph. I thought that was stretching
it too far. If anything, he gets a
boyish charm that’s more real and believable than Hugh Grant could get. Ditto for Rachel McAdams who is probably
first choice for most RomComs these days.
About time is a good watch for this weekend. 7 on 10.
Watch the trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3070600729/?ref_=tt_ov_vi
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