Talk About a Happy Ending
Let's just clear the elephant in the room: yes, I cried towards the climactic ending of the movie. I'm pretty sure the phrase "Rachel McAdams" is German for "tears," but don't quote me on that, I'm still trying to learn the language. As you would expect, About Time can get pretty emotional. In this instance, my misty eyes were triggered not by tragedy but by full-circle closure. While filled with drama, the film ultimately ends with our lead protagonists living happily ever after, which both helps and hinders the overall effect on the audience.
Besides having a first name that I still am not sure how to pronounce, Domhnall Gleeson was uniquely charming in this film. That might be easy to say considering we are both of the Ginger clan (and yes, a couple knocks were made on Gingers here and there), but his character become more and more appealing as the film wore on. The onscreen chemistry between Gleeson and McAdams was not overwhelming, but poignant enough to bring the film to life. A tip of the cap goes to Bill Nighy for another stirringly comedic showing, and I give a special "sixth man" award to Tom Hollander for providing additional humour (it's an English film, I had to throw in the "ou" somewhere) in bits and pieces.
Other than the acting, the directing was good, and the story was written well, but how come only an 8? Well, with any movie involving time travel, there will always be confusion to an extent as to things like viability and timeline. Now, I think the story was written well in that regard, but I still find myself questioning some of the key moments in the movie due to timeline confusion. What also hurts the movie is the simple fact that the ending is purely idealistic. Are there sad moments in the film? Of course there are. However, when you make a movie, you are immediately handicapped when the story does not end in some form of tragedy. Yes, this is true even for romantic comedies.
Luckily for Mr. Richard Curtis, I'm a total and complete sap when it comes to happy endings, thus my reason for giving a good rating for the film, but I have friends that I know would severely disagree with me. Definitely worth catching as a part of a date night or girls' night out. Dudes: stay away.
Written November 4, 2013
Besides having a first name that I still am not sure how to pronounce, Domhnall Gleeson was uniquely charming in this film. That might be easy to say considering we are both of the Ginger clan (and yes, a couple knocks were made on Gingers here and there), but his character become more and more appealing as the film wore on. The onscreen chemistry between Gleeson and McAdams was not overwhelming, but poignant enough to bring the film to life. A tip of the cap goes to Bill Nighy for another stirringly comedic showing, and I give a special "sixth man" award to Tom Hollander for providing additional humour (it's an English film, I had to throw in the "ou" somewhere) in bits and pieces.
Other than the acting, the directing was good, and the story was written well, but how come only an 8? Well, with any movie involving time travel, there will always be confusion to an extent as to things like viability and timeline. Now, I think the story was written well in that regard, but I still find myself questioning some of the key moments in the movie due to timeline confusion. What also hurts the movie is the simple fact that the ending is purely idealistic. Are there sad moments in the film? Of course there are. However, when you make a movie, you are immediately handicapped when the story does not end in some form of tragedy. Yes, this is true even for romantic comedies.
Luckily for Mr. Richard Curtis, I'm a total and complete sap when it comes to happy endings, thus my reason for giving a good rating for the film, but I have friends that I know would severely disagree with me. Definitely worth catching as a part of a date night or girls' night out. Dudes: stay away.
Written November 4, 2013