{"id":2997,"date":"2020-11-07T13:14:49","date_gmt":"2020-11-07T18:14:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.itwaslikemagic.com\/?p=2997"},"modified":"2026-05-01T10:51:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T14:51:39","slug":"about-time-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/about-time-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"‘About Time’ (2013) Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson<\/strong>) turns 21, his father lets him in on a little family secret \u2013 the men in their family can travel through time. There are rules, of course. He can\u2019t change history, but he can use his ability to improve his own life. When he meets Mary (Rachel McAdams<\/a><\/strong>), he falls in love and is able to take his time getting it just right until Mary loves him in return. But Tim soon realizes that time travel can\u2019t always save or help the people he loves from life itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was an unexpected treat for me. I\u2019ve always been a big fan of Rachel McAdams and Bill Nighy, and the premise was one that, while not overly original, was still really intriguing to me. About Time is the story of one man\u2019s life, using time travel to improve it and learn that no matter how many times you go back to do something different, you may always end up with the same result. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written and directed by Richard Curtis<\/a><\/strong>, it\u2019s no surprise that About Time<\/em> features poignant performances and sharp, insightful dialogue. Rachel McAdams and Domhnall Gleeson are so charming to watch together. Their love story shapes the film, but Gleeson\u2019s scenes with Bill Nighy, who plays his father, are the true heart and soul of About Time. Their bond remains a constant in Tim\u2019s life, from his early years through his marriage and the birth of his children. It\u2019s hard to extinguish, even when suffering from loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using a gimmick like time travel is difficult to do. It feels like a trope that would make it far too easy to gloss over conflict, tie a happy ending up in a bow, and send everyone on their merry way. It\u2019s also a gimmick that has been used repeatedly, sometimes to great effect, other times, not so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can be a convoluted trope that feels contrived and tired, but Curtis manages to avoid the pitfalls, creating something pretty straightforward and uncomplicated \u2013 the Lake men can find a dark place, clench their fists, and visualize a memory they wish to travel back to. They cannot go back in time beyond those memories, although they must be careful about what they change in another\u2019s life, as it could still affect their own. It\u2019s a simple premise, but it works because it focuses solely on Tim\u2019s life and how it unfolds, even if he meddles once or twice in someone else\u2019s life to right a wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gleeson may seem an unconventional leading man, but he holds his own against McAdams and Nighy, proving his worth as an affable, charming leading man. The supporting cast is also quite perfect, giving a lot of depth to characters who may otherwise come across as stock sidekicks and relatives who are merely there to enhance Tim\u2019s story. Curtis has written something original and sentimental without it coming across as straight cheese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While About Time<\/em> is labeled a romantic comedy, it\u2019s so much more than a romance and so much more than a comedy. It\u2019s an insightful, sentimental look at time and how often we take it for granted. Life is so fleeting that we need to appreciate what we have while we have it. Plenty of cynics will roll their eyes, but it seems impossible not to watch this film and leave it feeling unmoved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watched:<\/strong> 11\/01\/2020
Notable Song<\/strong>: The Luckiest by Ben Folds<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rating:<\/strong><\/div>
<\/path><\/svg><\/path><\/svg><\/path><\/svg><\/path><\/svg><\/path><\/svg><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

About Time: At the age of 21, Tim discovers he can travel in time and change what happens and has happened in his own life. His decision to make his world a better place by getting a girlfriend turns out not to be as easy as you might think.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[440,1],"tags":[490,1602,445,1603,1988,3462,1604,593,3653,458,1605,3461],"class_list":["post-2997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews-a","category-reviews","tag-490","tag-about-time","tag-bill-nighy","tag-domhnall-gleeson","tag-lindsay-duncan","tag-lydia-wilson","tag-margot-robbie","tag-rachel-mcadams","tag-4-5-stars","tag-richard-curtis","tag-tom-hollander","tag-vanessa-kirby"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2997"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82846,"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2997\/revisions\/82846"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theromcomcatalog.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}