About Time

Universal Pictures
Rated R for language and some sexual content.
Running time: 123 minutes.
Three stars out of four.

“About Time” is an extremely Richard Curtis-y Richard Curtis film, which is great for fans of the British writer-director and perfectly ghastly for everyone else.

I have to admit I’m not a complete devotee; “Love Actually,” that holiday favorite of Anglophiles and hopeless romantics alike, is meandering and indulgent and a good, solid 20 minutes too long. But I’ll acknowledge that what Curtis does well, he does really well. He has established an oeuvre and he knows how to work comfortably within it. His screenplays for “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Notting Hill” and the “Bridget Jones” films (well, the first one at least) offered a sharp and specific tone. He’s found a balance between biting and cuddly that’s instantly recognizable and hard to replicate.

Which brings us to “About Time,” the third film Curtis has written and directed. (We can all just forget about “Pirate Radio,” and we probably already have.) It features all of his signatures: dry, British wit; self-deprecating humor; snappy banter; daffy supporting characters; prominent pop songs; embarrassing drunken moments; and, ultimately, unabashed sentiment. It all takes place within the comfy-cozy environs of an upper-middle-class London that the vast majority of audience members couldn’t even begin to afford. And that’s the allure of the escape.

But Curtis also grafts a sci-fi plot onto his usual romantic comedy, one involving a decidedly low-tech use of time travel. It’s actually a rather clever conceit, especially given the meager reasons the characters use this ability, until the film begins abandoning its own boundaries and breaking its own rules in the name of third-act heart-tugging.

Until then, though, “About Time” is lively and undeniably charming. You may as well check your cynicism at the door, because Curtis & Co. are going to find a way to trample all over it — adorably.

Donhmall Gleeson stars as Tim, the only son of a wealthy and quirky English family who learns on his 21st birthday that all the men in his clan have the ability to travel back in time. He is shocked to receive this information, as one might imagine, and the matter-of-fact way his father presents it to him does nothing to convince him of its truth. As Tim’s dad, Bill Nighy shows up and essentially functions as Bill Nighy, or at least the persona of Nighy we’ve come to expect and adore: brilliantly funny in an effortless, understated way, but with the stealthy ability to sneak up and break your heart.

Gleeson, whose real-life father is the great Irish actor Brendan Gleeson, functions beautifully in the kind of role that used to belong to Hugh Grant: bumbling and fumbling for the right thing to say, he eventually reveals himself to be sweet, smart and decent to the core. But he’s also a little lonely and needy, so when he decides to try out out his new-found powers — which require him to climb inside a dark closet, clench his fists and think really hard about where in time he wants to go — he initially uses them in hopes of finding a girlfriend.

(There are a few rules here. You can’t go forward in time, for example, and you can only go back to moments in your own life for a do-over or to relive an event that was joyous. “You can’t kill Hitler or shag Helen of Troy,” as Tim’s father so amusingly puts it. But “About Time” enforces these rules rather selectively as the film goes on, which is frustrating because it was really onto something.)

After a beguiling blonde initially rejects him, he falls for a young American named Mary (an earthy, quick-witted Rachel McAdams, who could not possibly be lovelier). After their meet-cute over a blind dinner date (you’ll see what I mean by this), Tim and Mary go through all the traditional stages of courtship: first kiss, first sex, moving in together, meeting each others’ parents. But Tim also goes back and tweaks moments here and there to say something less goofy or seem more confident. The contrast in the various “versions” of their relationship may be a tad predictable but they’re always good for a laugh, or at least a smile. Curtis depicts the passage of time and the routine they fall into through a detailed and elegantly edited montage that takes place entirely in the corridor of a tube station. A band busking in the background provides the soundtrack and a great sense of movement.

And that’s pretty much all “About Time” is about: marriage, babies, family, holidays, and the ability to make everything just a little bit better with a quick re-do. Tom Hollander steals the few scenes he’s in as the bitter playwright who serves as Tim’s first roommate, while Lydia Wilson is borderline cringe-inducing as Tim’s Manic Pixie Dream Girl sister.

But what the film lacks in complex plot structure, it makes up for with dialogue and heart. “About Time” isn’t just about the ooey-gooey happy moments, but also about the consequences of going back too far in time and the frustrating inability to fight death. The message of living each day to its fullest may be mawkish and obvious, but you may be too damn charmed by the end to mind.