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Film Review: About Time (12a)
Running time 123 minutes
Rating:***
Going through the list of truly great British television comedy – Mr Bean, Spitting Image, Not the Nine O’Clock News, Blackadder for starters – the name Richard Curtis appears with the regularity of the bongs heralding the start of News At Ten, and with much the same connotations – important and momentous, if fairly predictable.
Now that’s not to be nasty to the very nice, very talented and highly-regarded Mr Curtis, for he has enlivened many a Saturday evening in a typical suburban home, but it’s a bit like drinking an espresso – you like the froth, but really want to get your taste buds round the strong stuff at the bottom.
About Time is the latest in a string of typically British film rom-coms by Curtis, which began with Four Weddings and a Funeral, moving on through Notting Hill, then Bridget Jones and Love Actually, The Boat That Rocked and ending up in Cornwall with About Time.
This latest take on a British family full of faintly eccentric but basically nice people involves a father (Bill Nighy) telling his son Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) the family secret – that all the male members of the family can travel in time, simply by standing in a cupboard, clenching their fists and thinking of a specific time. When I used to do that as a youngster it was called a tantrum and I was told not to be silly.
Still, this is movie-making and anything is possible, especially as all the complications of time travel can be waved away as inconsequential.
In this tale, Tim is lacking a girlfriend, but finally meets up with American Mary (Rachel McAdam) and he goes through life correcting all the little mistakes that boys tend to make with their girlfriends.
Helping him along the way are the popular and familiar faces of British film – Tom Hollander, Richard E Grant and a final cameo from the sadly-missed Richard Griffiths – helping us through an enjoyable and undemanding two-hour romp through Curtis’ (a New Zealander) take on the British.
About Time takes on a sentimental edge when Dad announces that he is seriously ill and decides that it is a suitable moment to impact to his son homely advice about love, life and, yes, time travel.
It’s all beautifully photographed, mainly in Cornwall, the acting is easy and relaxed, the people sort-of believable, but if you were to ask me the name of the characters in 24 hours, I might be in some difficulty.
Compared with masterpieces such as Blackadder and Not the Nine O’Clock News, About Time could be seen as a missed opportunity for something which is reportedly Curtis’ final film. However, as there’s plenty of gritty and grimy stuff around in cinemas at the moment, About Time may well offer a measure of welcome relief.