About Time

Richard Curtis rounds off his trust fund trilogy with weddings (not four, thankfully) and love (not actually, mercifully) in this return to the vanilla, upper-middle-class universe of comedic purgatory from which he refuses to shift.

Domhnall Gleeson is awkward gangly Tim, with nothing to live for but the guarantee of a wealthy future. At 21 he discovers the ability to time travel within his lifetime by climbing into a wardrobe, fists clenched and face contorted in a constipated scowl. Instead of betting upon previous Grand Nationals, he decides to iron out the minutiae of his romantic life. Rachel McAdams plays the signature Curtis American, while Bill Nighy (admittedly always charming) as Tim’s father takes a method approach to his playing of Bill Nighy by actually existing as Bill Nighy for 63 years.

Unlike the peerless Groundhog Day there is no dissection of love or the human condition here, only a syrupy river flowing away from the comedy zeitgeist that’s so sweet it should come with a shot of insulin. [Alan Bett]