(I'll try to keep spoilers at a minimum but watch the trailer)
Domhnall Gleeson, who you probably better know as Bill Wesley from Harry Potter, stars as lead Tim Lake.
When Lake turns 21 his father, played by Bill Nighy, reveals to him the family secret: the men of his family can travel back in time. But not just any point in history - it has to be a time and place they've already been before.
Lake is discouraged to use his power for monetary gain or fame, so the red-haired, seemingly socially awkward man uses his gift to improve his love life.
Time travel is a gift many people wish they had. Whether it is to lead more financially lucrative lives or find fame, or if its simply to change the way an interaction, conversation or meeting played out, a lot of people, myself included, have wished they could simply go back in time and do it better.
Lake gets to do just that but he uses it for his love life, though it doesn't work out exactly as he hopes it would the following summer with sister Kit Kat's (Lydia Wilson) friend Charlotte, played by Neighbours alumni and future Harley Quinn Margot Robbie.
A move to London opens the door for a chance meeting with Rachel McAdams' Mary, with whom he shares a night flirting at a restaurant. The two connect, but Lake learns another lesson of his unique gift: if he changes the past, he will inevitably change his future.
My major beef with this film is Gleeson is a little too creepy.
When he meets Mary for the first time (again), he is the type of creepy of which would have police and security called within seconds. Defying utter logic (and obviously feeding on rom-com aspect), she instead agrees to meet him for dinner.
It just doesn't make sense.
If it was someone like Ryan Gosling or Hugh Grant in that scene, their natural charisma and charm would've made it a totally plausible outcome. Gleeson is just creepy all round - the way the lines are delivered coupled with the scary intensity of his eyes sends shivers rather than the suggestive signals he was supposed to.
His social awkwardness and reactions to certain situations do deliver some extra laughs, and to his credit Gleeson softens up in different times of the film.
McAdams is perfect as always, Nighy adds energy to the family, Wilson's free-spirited Kit Kat is a troubling yet refreshing sidestory to the main plot, and Richard Cordery's minor role as Uncle Desmond is hilarious.
Even though Gleeson is a little on the creepy side at times About Time is a film that will make you smile, laugh, and leave you coming back for more.
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