Richard Curtis' most recent movie is less a rom com than a "drama-dy" which is reminiscent of some of the time plays of JP Priestley. It has a lot of logic problems - Curtis sets up the rules of time travel and then breaks most of them, pays distracting lack of attention to big issues (would Domhnall Gleeson really be dissuaded to make money by his father saying "have you ever met a really happy rich person?", once he starts doing some favours for others such as his flatmate I began wondering why he didn't help by warning victims of terrorist attacks and car crashes)...
But after a while I went with it, and the piece worked it's magic on me. Curtis clearly has such a good heart, and that comes through in his movie, which is never mean, full of love and kindness, and the importance of family and looking out for each other.
Gleeson lacks the star power of Hugh Grant but is very likeable as a gawky Curtis lead who discovers he has the power to use time, and romances charming Rachel McAdams - who is a bit too pretty for him, but maybe I'm just biased. There's a typically stunningly strong support cast including Bill Nighy (dad), Lindsay Duncan (mum), Tom Hollander (grumpy playwright), Richard Griffiths and Richard E Grant (cameos as actors), Lydia Wilson (wacky sister), Josh McGuire and Will Merrick (silly best best friends)... plus our own Margot Robbie, looking gorgeous as an early object of Gleeson's desire.
There are plenty of Curtis tropes: a wedding, a funeral, some dopey best mates (not one but two), a manic pixie dream girl, an American love interest, upper middle class setting, some pop culture references (in this case a lot of adoration for Kate Moss), the wacky housemate. Still there's freshness too: the Cornwall house, the dinner in the dark (I love this sequence). London has been lovingly shot, as have the women. The second half is more about Gleeson and Bill Nighy than McAdams - in fact McAdams isn't seen that much.
This makes you think about regret, love, time passing, family... I was moved and even shed a tear. I think sci fi fans might struggle with the logic though!
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