About Time Review

Richard Curtis makes his final turn as a big-screen director with the charming sci-fi rom-com About Time. Has he saved the best for last?
"I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had ever happened."

"So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. What we must decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."

Strange as it might seem to open this review with a reciting of two isolated lines of dialogue from The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf's sentiments in The Fellowship of the Ring are in reality vital to defining Richard Curtis' final directorial contribution to the film industry. About Time's core mantra stems from a trail of thought not unlike the White Wizard's, for Curtis places an emphasis on the limited time that each of us has in life and how we elect to make the best of it before the end.

As noble and contemplative an approach as that might appear, though, when it comes to the manner of his execution, the acclaimed rom-com director plays it fairly safe. Viewers who've seen Love Actually (and quite frankly, who hasn't?) will be under no illusion as to whether or not they're seeing a motion picture from its creator, About Time sharing many of the same structural and dialogue tropes with its spiritual predecessor. Inevitably, this lends something of a Marmite-esque quality to the film- Curtis fans will undoubtedly soak it up and feel their heartstrings suitably tugged, yet those viewers who disdain such blatantly emotive narratives will likely maintain apathy towards proceedings.

That's not to say that Curtis has actively neglected to pre-empt this situation. In fact, About Time could be argued as an unashamed love letter from the helm of Notting Hill and Bridget Jones' Diary to his loyal followers. Certainly, having Bill Nighy back on board should prove an alluring aspect of the flick from the outset. Nighy's portrayal is notably more reserved than it was when he took on the role of a loathed rock junkie in Curtis' Christmas shin-dig ten years ago, yet the script dictates that, and the time he is afforded enables the Brit star to excel as an instantly lovable fatherly figure. Just as Nighy provided the most memorable instances of comic relief in Love Actually, so too do his moving sequences with Domnhall Gleeson's hapless protagonist Tim prove to be amongst the best moments of this production.

What's a shame, then, is that Harry Potter's Gleeson barely makes an impact himself. Perhaps it's a lack of experience in the lead role, or perhaps there simply would have been a better candidate to give us a more charismatic rendition of Tim- this reviewer could assert that the problem is a mixture of the pair. When Tim shares the stage with the eclectic ensemble of supporting characters, it's only too noticable that Rachel McAdams, Lindsay Duncan and particularly Rev's Tom Hollander each hit the emotive and comedic mark with relative ease in comparison. Even the late and great Richard Griffiths has a fleeting cameo during the first act and the brief hilarity of that too eclipses the lead star's own charm and comic power totally.

This is not to say that Richard Curtis' final directorial contribution to the realms of cinema is a qualified failure. Rather, as a production it simply disappoints in its own failure to strive for any kind of narrative, structural or directorial innovation in the duration of its 123-minute running time. Bill Nighy brings charm and subtle humour to every scene he inhabits as ever, and Curtis does manage an effective attempt at emotional gravitas with a suitably uplifting denouement. Nevertheless, the sub-par performance of About Time's lead star, along with its writer and director's insistence on sticking to the conceptual status quo of romantic-comedy films, go a long way in confirming that it's neither a dismal effort or any kind of Film of the Year contender. There's potential abound here for a work of greater merit, but in Curtis' case, at least judging by his recent comments of closure, it appears that time's up.
3/5