I’m not sure where I’ve watched most of my childhood movies, considering that streaming services weren’t really popular until later in my teens. It feels like my mental movie collection is just a hodgepodge of random films that I’ve collected through random encounters and snippets of flipping through channels. The reason I mention this is because I recently came across and rewatched a movie that I clearly remember watching but don’t really remember watching.
It was so weird because I could recite a couple lines but couldn’t place them when I had seen them before. The movie, About Time, was honestly really good, with an amazing cast to boot. Bill Nighy, Rachel McAdams (aka Regina George), and even Margot Robbie did a fantastic job along with the main actor, Domhnall Gleeson (who played Bill Weasley in Harry Potter). The cast was superb, to say the least. The movie centers around Gleeson, or Tim, who finds out that he’s able to travel back in time to any point in his life. What does he do with such a profound gift? He tries to get laid. I mean, it’s a bit more complicated than that, he’s really after finding true love but just so happens to get laid along the way. We see Tim go through the different stages of his life utilizing his gift in a multitude of ways and watch him grow and mature as he comes to many difficult crossroads. Now that you have the general idea of the film, let’s get analyzing.
The main thing About Time does well is be relatable. I don’t just mean that it makes funny jokes that everyone can laugh at, but it portrays the characters in a profoundly humanistic light. We see our main character, Tim, make a lot of choices that the average person would make. For example, whenever Tim makes a mistake, something small like saying a bad pickup line or tripping in front of the girl he likes, he immediately gets flustered and redoes it. If I could, I would be redoing my day over the smallest inconveniences too. The choices that Tim makes are just so understandable that throughout the movie you’re saying to yourself, “Yeah same.”
Furthermore, we don’t just see Tim make dumb decisions, but we see him grow and learn things in a beautiful way. Quick spoiler alert, but there gets to a point where Tim must decide to save his sister or lose his kid. Tim has the power to go back in time and help his sister, but he realizes that every time he does save her, she doesn’t learn from her mistakes and she gets hurt again. It makes more sense when you watch the movie. The ultimate message that Tim learns as he repeats parts of his life over and over, is that each day is precious. Mistakes are meant to be made; each tragedy is a reminder that life can hurt, but it’s what makes life worth living. Eventually, Tim doesn’t even use his abilities anymore, he just enjoys life as it comes. That’s the beauty of it, to just enjoy life. I think that’s why this movie is so compelling, it’s simple but with such a powerful message. Definitely re-rewatching it again soon, and so should you.