Time travel movies must be tricky buggers to write. To make the implausible plausible, you have to establish rules and then abide by them, or people will stop buying into the story you’re telling. When they work (“Back to the Future,” “Terminator”), you can capture the imagination of your viewers; when they’re unconvincing (“Time Traveler’s Wife,” “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home”), you’re left with goofy sci-fi.
“About Time” must have been an especially tricky bugger to write. The British romantic comedy about a family of men who can travel back in time establishes its rules at the outset, but then breaks all of them, possibly because once the story got rolling, it had nowhere else to go.
The rules: 1) Only the men can travel in time; 2) You can travel only backward in time; and 3) you can’t go back to before your child was born, or a different child will be born. To avoid spoiling the movie, all I can say is the people who made “About Time” must have considered these rules to be loose guidelines, as one would imagine the laws upon which something as simple as time travel would be based. By the movie’s end, they have tossed all of their rules, one by one in favor of a hug or a cheap resolution to a problem. “Remember the baby that vanished when dad took a jaunt down memory lane? No problem! She’s back!”
Sorry, that’s a bit of a spoiler. But “About Time” breaks its rules in worse ways. That’s a shame, because at its heart, it’s a charming, funny movie with lovely performances.
The film follows Tim Lake, who at 21 learns from his father that the men in their family can travel back to another time in their life. All they have to do is go to a dark place, clench their fists, and think of the time and location. The scene in which the dad, played by Bill Nighy, awkwardly tells his son about his special ability, had me laughing out loud.
Like I imagine most men would, Tim decides to use his skill to acquire a girlfriend. His first attempt fails, but then he hits it off with Mary during a random encounter. In another cute scene, their first “night together” is a disaster twice over until Tim jumps back one more time and nails his performance.
At that point, “About Time” seems to be exploring themes of choice, happenstance, and living without regret. When Tim blunders things with Mary, he jumps back further and further in time to fix things, only he makes them worse. I thought the movie was going to be about those lighting-in-a-bottle moments that happen only once but change your life forever. But “About Time” is a romantic comedy, so Tim eventually steers things back on course.
This might be comforting to some viewers, but it left “About Time” with no foothold. Writer and director Richard Curtis, having penned himself into a corner, and being unable to jump back in time to before that happened, devised even more random events to pump up the drama. Alas, these dilemmas are easily resolved, too – simply by breaking the rules.
Oh well. I did enjoy Domhnall Gleeson as Tim. He reminded me of a gingery Hugh Grant, and his mannerisms and reactions are just as funny. Rachel McAdams (the wife in “The Time Traveler’s Wife”) is sweet as Mary, and her realistic approach to her character helps to ground the movie in reality. Nighy was a pleasure to watch in every scene, as was Lydia Wilson, who played Tim’s sister. She lights up the screen every time she appears, and her energy lends a little credence to some of the film’s more absurd moments. Remember: Only men can travel back in time!
Despite gaping plot holes and a weak final 30 minutes, “About Time” would make for a romantic rental; it has that vibe. Just don’t expect to enjoy it so much, you’ll want to revisit it time and again.
Two-and-a-half stars out of four. Rated R for language and sexual situations.