If you’re not into slow movies, then you’ll probably not like
About Time. I have to give it to you, it’s quite a slow movie. But it builds up
really well. Richard Curtis, the writer and director, was a genius on how he
made this movie well and round with humor, wit and drama at the same time. But
you can’t be surprise with a man who wrote Notting Hill and Mr. Bean. I’m quite
a fan of slow movie. It gives me the opportunity to see the development of
characters and story, and it usually gives me the ‘oh what a good movie’
feeling at the end of the movie. Because you know, it's not just another baseless romcom movie, but it's a movie with an important life lesson. Hey, it doesn't hurt when a nice, fastbeat cover of How Long Will I Love You (Ellie Goulding) is played in the movie, right?
About Time is a story about Tim, a typical, awkward, 21 year old ginger,
looking for love. Tim has a pretty normal British family: the typical strong
mom, the laidback cool dad, the quirky uncle, and the carefree but lovely
sister. It seems like a normal and boring story, but it has a little twist in
it: Tim and his dad are time travelers. But this not a sci-fi time travelling
story, more on, having the ability to do things differently. So, Tim uses it on
finding and getting the love of his life, Mary. Eventually, he got her but the
way he got her was pretty complicated and confusing, at time. But I liked it,
it was a fresh attempt of chasing love than the normal predictable romcom movies. The wedding was
a fun scene too. But it wasn’t the romance of the movie that gave me ‘oh
what a good movie’ feeling, it was more of the family part.
However, first, I want to talk about the 3 main characters (Tim,
Mary, and Dad) of this movie. I think the casting of these 3 main characters were
really excellent picked. Domhnall Gleeson was spot on with the protagonist,
Tim. He made Tim so relatable to the audience, sometimes you sympathized him,
sometimes you loved him, and sometimes you’re just annoyed by him. Domhnall
Gleeson made you feel, everyone has a Tim in them. Rachael McAdams portrayed the
dream girl part very well. She was insecure, but perfect and loveable at the
same time. But the best character was played by Bill Nighy, the dad. He played
it cool, composed, and witty but when the sadness part of the movie came, he
made sure it was profound. Round of applause for Bill Nighy, he made the story
moved. He made the movie more than just another boring and pointless romcom,
but made sure an important lesson is delivered in this movie. He was also the
reason that made the movie touched me.
The last scene when Tim and
his dad spend their last time with each other was a really devastating scene. For those who knows
me, dad is a pretty sensitive and touching issue for me. In a way, this movie
is one of those ‘art mocks reality’ for me: close father and son relationship,
cancer, inevitable death. About Time is not really about time traveling, but
literally about time. The most expensive thing we can give someone in this
world is time, because we won’t get it back. That’s the important lesson that I
got from this movie. This movie unveiled that lesson gracefully and beautiful,
at the same time. The hard truth is the time we are given in this world is
short compared to the time we want to spend with our loved ones, so we just
have to make the best out of it without the need to “travel back at all, not
even for the day, I just try to live every day as if I’ve deliberately come
back to this one day, to enjoy it, as if it was the full final day of my
extraordinary, ordinary life.”
Well put, Tim.
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