About Time - Station Screening Notes

"I believe in some kind of path/ That we can walk down me and you."

                                                         'Into My Arms' Nick Cave

In this whimsical romantic comedy Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) is stunned to find he has inherited the gift of time travel from his father (Bill Nighy). Moving to London to work for a law firm Tim encounters Mary (Rachel McAdams) on a night out and uses his gift to try and create the perfect relationship.

Though Richard Curtis started out in television writing for the satirical sketch show Not the Nine O Clock News (1979-82) and the splendidly mean-spirited sitcom Blackadder (1981-89) his movie career has been somewhat gentler. In his screenplays for Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994, Mike Newell), Notting Hill (1999, Roger Michel) and his own directorial efforts Love Actually (2003) and The Boat That Rocked (2009) Curtis has created an onscreen version of British life which is escapist but appealing. His outlook is unashamedly romantic and About Time has the familiar elements of a Curtis movie, a shy young man falling in love with a confident woman, a likeable bunch of eccentric supporting characters, awkward family occasions, and lots of swearing. Somebody seems to have sorted out his iPod though. There's no Wet Wet Wet on the soundtrack for About Time but rather class acts like Nick Cave and Scottish singer Paul Buchanan.

Written & Directed by Richard Curtis

Running Time - 2 hrs 4 minutes