About Time

The high priest of high-fructose cinema, Richard Curtis (Love, Actually) really outdoes himself with the sincere, sentimental, romantic dramedy About Time. Curtis never intends to make perfect films, but films that perfectly capture a feeling. He takes a long route to it here, with a loopy plot device about generations of men in one family who can travel back in time—but only in their own lives. That’s the legacy inherited by Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson, son of character actor Brendan Gleeson), who uses his powers to find true love. So, question: How many consecutive days would you repeat if you believed your true love to be Rachel McAdams? Tim rather evidently hits the jackpot and the rest is repeated history. The concept barely holds up, but About Time is inescapably charming and the only thing close to a good date movie in a long time.