It's perfect in the same way that Stranger Than Fiction was perfect... and I can honestly say that while other movies have scored as highly as that did, they haven't been the same kind of movie.
But About Time is essentially everything I want in a movie and then some. Which is saying something since it was the "oh, there's nothing else good on, let's go see this" movie choice tonight.
I didn't even know it was written and directed by Richard Curtis until the credits started to roll at the end of the movie... he's a brilliant bastard... an emotionally manipulative brilliant bastard who knows exactly how to make you fall in complete love with his characters so that he can do essentially anything he likes with them and to the audience, and you go along with them.
And he had me... I laughed, I cried... yes, another movie where I cried... but I was also heartily laughing out loud in equal measure.
Even the fact that the main character can travel backwards and forwards in time within his own life never feels ridiculous... it's not flashy or sensational, it's just part of who he is.
The cast is brilliant... Domhnall Gleeson (best known, at least to me as the eldest Weasley brother in Harry Potter) is spectacular... he's dorky enough at the beginning, but he's adorable enough so that it makes sense why she would fall in love with him, and he has fantastic comic timing.
And Rachel McAdams must be getting used to time travelling love interests, this is the third movie she's been in that involves time travel (although she does need to make a movie where she's the one moving through time)... and she's also brilliant. At first I thought, well, she's just too pretty... but about half a second later that's undercut by the fact she's a little clumsy, plus they gave her a series of slightly unflattering haircuts. So she just ends up being the perfect match for Gleeson, they work perfectly as a couple.
The supporting cast is full of brilliant, quirky, lovable characters... Lindsay Duncan, Tom Hollander, Will Merrick... but Bill Nighy is absolutely wonderful as Gleeson's dad. He's clearly having a whale of a time, he gets a number of really brilliant scenes, both comedic and dramatic.
Normally I don't notice music in movies, however I noticed the music in About Time on a number of occasions... because it was perfectly suited to the moment. It was clear that music had been selected because the lyrics had a connection to the mood of the moment or contents of the scene.
I honestly can't recommend this movie enough... it's not big and flashy, it's just a story about a guy living his life the best he can, one day at a time... even if sometimes it takes him several tries to live that particular day.
yani's rating: 5 dark spaces out of 5
1 comment:
Totally agreed. It is a delightful movie.
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