About Time

I saw About Time in November, and it turned me into emotional mush, making any kind of commentary impossible. This is what I've come up with, in anticipation of the DVD release on February 4th.

The Midas of romantic comedies, Richard Curtis's work includes Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones' Diary, and the winter favorite, Love Actually. With his latest film, About Time, the writer/director weaves a beautiful story about love and family, life and death. 

Y'all can have The Notebook, I'll take About Time any day. While this article from NPR.org has been nagging at the back of my brain, I choose instead to see the ways in which the movie makes its own rules, and more importantly, breaks some new ground.

Long story short, Tim can travel in time. Don't ask why or how, just see the movie. His goal is to use his gift to find love, but as the old saying goes, love finds him - when he's literally not looking for it. Tim goes on a blind double-date to a resturaunt whose gimmick is to dine in the dark. No lights. Unlike the scene in When in Rome, which uses night vision goggles to show us what's happening, Tim's date is comprised of dialogue relayed over a black screen. Tim hits it off with his date, Mary. Waiting for her outside the resturaunt, he can only hope that the girl who has captured his heart is someone he will also find attractive. Of course, being Rachel McAdams, she is.

But, guys. He likes her before he sees her. No love-at-first-sight nonsense, no fake getting-to-know-the-hot-girl crap. I'm utterly charmed.

It gets better.

About Time is about so much more than Tim and Mary - it's about Tim's relationship to his family, his friendship with his father, learning to trust your instincts. Accepting the inevitable and welcoming the unexpected. With the love and support of family, and the realization that life is precious, every moment, lived for the first or the last time, is a gift.

I know it sounds like a lot of sap, but I don't care. It's the most heartwarming film I've seen in ages, and one that I can't wait to see again.

Notes:
- My mom saw a preview of this film, and said she could see me marrying someone like Tim. I'm more than okay with that.
- Tim is played by Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson, who, besides being adorable, is most famous for playing Fred Weasley in the last Harry Potter film. Also, his father is renown actor Brendan Gleeson.
- Tim's mother's name is Mary - so is Domhnall's. - First Richard Curtis hit romantic comedy without Hugh Grant. Probably factors into why I like it so much.