Highlights
- About Time offers a unique interpretation of time-travel, focusing on reliving and altering past moments rather than traveling to the future.
- The movie explores the limitations of time-travel, with Tim’s family only able to go back to moments they have experienced in their own lifetimes.
- The ending of About Time is poignant and emotional, with Tim choosing to live in the present and appreciate his ordinary life, despite the struggles and heartbreak.
Directed by Richard Curtis, About Time offers a unique interpretation of time-travel tropes. The movie follows Tim (Domhnall Gleeson), who, on his 21st birthday, learns that the men of his family are able to travel back in time to relive, and alter, moments they have lived before. About Time has a phenomenal cast, including Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, and Margot Robbie — all of whom deliver exceptional performances. Full of romance, humor, and heartbreak, About Time is a refreshing watch for any sci-fi fan.
Since its release back in 2013, About Time has been hailed as a heart-warming classic. Whilst the movie frequently focuses on the positives of time-travel, it also explores the limitations of this concept. For example, Tim’s family are not capable of traveling to the future, and they can only revisit moments which they have experienced in their own lifetimes. In the words of Tim’s father (Bill Nighy):
“I can only go to places where I actually was and can remember. I can’t kill Hitler.”
About Time’s success is largely found in its interpretation of time-travel, but the movie has also been hailed for its exploration of everyday life – a theme which is encapsulated within About Time’s poignant ending.
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What Is About Time About?
On Tim’s 21st birthday, his father tells him that the men in their family are able to travel back in time. To do so, they have to go into a dark space, typically a cupboard, and think about the moment they want to revisit. Whilst Tim initially believes that this is part of an elaborate joke, he soon learns that this is not the case.
Unlike other time-travel movies, Tim’s father travels back in time for pretty ordinary purposes. When Tim inquires what his father has done with his ability to travel back in time, he explains that:
“For me, it’s books, books, books. I’ve read everything a man could wish to, twice.”
Tim suggests the idea of traveling back in time to become rich, but Tim’s father quickly warns him off this idea. His dad tells Tim that his Grandfather attempted this, but it “utterly screwed up” his life. Instead, Tim’s father tells him to use this power “for things you really think would make your life the way you want it to be.” In response, Tim tells his dad that he is going to use his ability to time-travel to try and get a girlfriend.
Throughout the movie, About Time balances the extraordinary concept of time-travel with the ordinary struggles of everyday life. Whilst Tim is blessed with the ability to travel back in time, his love life is still filled with an array of disappointments. Tim quickly learns that:
“All the time-travel in the world, can’t make someone love you.”
However, he soon meets Mary (Rachel McAdams), an American working for a publishing company. Tim promptly falls in love with Mary, but despite his ability to time-travel, the pair’s relationship is full of ups and downs. Although About Time features a ton of humor, the movie also explores the more hard-hitting parts of life, culminating in the movie’s emotional ending.
How Does About Time End?
Towards the end of the movie, Tim discovers that his father has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. It is devastating news, and the family is reeling with grief. Tim’s father soon passes away, but Tim finds comfort in the fact that he can travel back in time to visit his beloved father. However, this source of comfort is jeopardized when Mary reveals that she wants to have a third child.
Earlier on in the movie, Tim attempts to travel back in time to prevent his sister (Lydia Wilson) from getting into a car accident. Though he successfully prevents the accident, Tim has an unexpected shock when he returns to the present and discovers that his daughter, Posy, has never been born. Instead, Tim now has a son, and Posy does not exist. When Tim asks his father how this has happened, he explains that it is not possible to change events prior to a child’s birth, otherwise the child will not be the same. Because of this rule, Tim is later faced with a challenging dilemma – having another child, or saying goodbye to his dad forever.
Ultimately, Tim decides to have a third child with Mary, opting to make the most of his life rather than dwelling in the past. In an emotional scene, Tim travels back in time to give his dad a final farewell before the birth of his third child. During their poignant goodbye, Tim asks if there’s anything his father would like to do, in which his dad responds: “A quick little walk.”
The pair then travel back in time to one of Tim’s childhood memories, in which Tim and his dad are walking along the beach together. Tim’s father acknowledges that this is “totally against the rules,” but they both make sure not to change anything. Tim is transported back in time to his childhood, and the pair enjoy their final few moments together. It is the most poignant moment in themovie, making About Time’s ending a memorable and heart-wrenching watch.
The movie then cuts to Tim’s life in the present, in which his family are learning to cope with the aftermath of Tim’s father’s death. In an emotional scene, Tim relays his new mantra for learning to live his life to the fullest. Whilst his father used to travel back in time to relive each day, Tim reveals that he has now gone one step further than his dad. He explains that:
“I now don’t travel back at all, not even for the day. I just try to live every day as though I have deliberately come back to this day. To enjoy it. As if it was the full final day of my extraordinary, ordinary life.”
In the movie’s final moments, audiences learn that Tim has stopped traveling back in time and is instead learning to appreciate his time in the present. It’s clear that Tim has learned to make the most out of his everyday life, explaining to viewers that: “All we can do is do our best, to relish this remarkable ride.” The movie then relays a montage of people living out their ordinary lives, capturing Tim’s appreciation for everyday life.
It’s interesting that a movie about time travel concludes with its central character retiring from traveling back in time, but About Time’s ending captures the true meaning of the film. About Time showcases a love for life and demonstrates the importance of finding the beauty in an ordinary existence, despite life’s many struggles.
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