Picking the Right Moments
7.8 out of 10 | DVD or RENTAL
Rated: R Language and some sexual content
Release Date: November 8, 2013
Runtime: 2 hours 4 minutes
Release Date: November 8, 2013
Runtime: 2 hours 4 minutes
Director: Richard Curtis
Writers: Richard Curtis
Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Lydia Wilson, Lindsay Duncan, Richard Cordery, Joshua McGuire, Tom Hollander
Writers: Richard Curtis
Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Lydia Wilson, Lindsay Duncan, Richard Cordery, Joshua McGuire, Tom Hollander
SYNOPSIS: 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 it sounds.
REVIEW: Richard Curtis, director of Pirate Radio and Love Actually, writes and directs a new romantic tale taking place on the British Isle. Can his new effort stand up to the success of his previous works? Only time will tell.
A young man Tim (Domhnall Gleeson, Dredd 3D) is told by his father (Bill Nighy, The World's End) on the day after a huge annual family New Years Eve party that all the men in the family can travel back in time. Will he try and gain riches and fame with his power? Actually, all he really wants is to find a girlfriend. Moving to London to pursue a career as a barrister, Tim finds himself on a date with a young woman Mary (Rachel McAdams, The Vow). Completely smitten, Tim does all he can to make every moment perfect with her. Will his time traveling lead to a perfect life, or will he alter it so much that it will be unrecognizable?
Built as a dramedy with a science-fi plot device, About Time can be categorized in the same genre as Keanu Reeves' Lake House, Paul Dano's Ruby Sparks, and Eric Bana's The Time Traveler's Wife. Time traveling is paramount to the story and serves it well, but the story is more than just that notion, revolving about love and loss, regrets and realizations, and life decisions made.
Decidedly British, About Time's Tim is a young Hugh Grant, awkwardly stumbling around his words around girls and strange situations. As he grows up, he matures but keeps his innocence and naivety. Time travel is not an easy concept to wrap one's mind around, but Tim does his best to find his way through it. Tim's dad tries to guide him in the intricacies of the legacy ability as best he can without keeping Tim from finding his own way and own voice. The American Mary is the perfect blend of girl next door and romantic pursuit. She is worthy of Tim's time and the audience's investment. rounding out the ensemble is Lydia Wilson as the free spirit and younger sister Kit Kat, Richard Cordery as the eccentric Uncle D, and Joshua McGuire as barrister pal Rory.
The sci-fi time travel angle is quaint and its rules simplistic. The traveler can only move along his own lifeline and affect only immediate change in his own life. He does not overlap with multiple versions of himself, instead embodying his one body at any one time. There are other rules, but they are more important to the story, so they will be left unsaid. Needless to say, some of Tim's actions do result in increasingly obvious consequences.
Tim and Mary are fun to watch, their chemistry evident. Dramatic with dry comedic edges, you root for their success. Add in the light sci-fi angle and you have an intriguing and engrossing tale of sweet romance, no matter what time it is.
Built as a dramedy with a science-fi plot device, About Time can be categorized in the same genre as Keanu Reeves' Lake House, Paul Dano's Ruby Sparks, and Eric Bana's The Time Traveler's Wife. Time traveling is paramount to the story and serves it well, but the story is more than just that notion, revolving about love and loss, regrets and realizations, and life decisions made.
Decidedly British, About Time's Tim is a young Hugh Grant, awkwardly stumbling around his words around girls and strange situations. As he grows up, he matures but keeps his innocence and naivety. Time travel is not an easy concept to wrap one's mind around, but Tim does his best to find his way through it. Tim's dad tries to guide him in the intricacies of the legacy ability as best he can without keeping Tim from finding his own way and own voice. The American Mary is the perfect blend of girl next door and romantic pursuit. She is worthy of Tim's time and the audience's investment. rounding out the ensemble is Lydia Wilson as the free spirit and younger sister Kit Kat, Richard Cordery as the eccentric Uncle D, and Joshua McGuire as barrister pal Rory.
The sci-fi time travel angle is quaint and its rules simplistic. The traveler can only move along his own lifeline and affect only immediate change in his own life. He does not overlap with multiple versions of himself, instead embodying his one body at any one time. There are other rules, but they are more important to the story, so they will be left unsaid. Needless to say, some of Tim's actions do result in increasingly obvious consequences.
Tim and Mary are fun to watch, their chemistry evident. Dramatic with dry comedic edges, you root for their success. Add in the light sci-fi angle and you have an intriguing and engrossing tale of sweet romance, no matter what time it is.
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