It has been a long time since I have written. I have been off of Facebook, and, in general, have been amazed at how little that decision has changed my life. If anything, it has made my day to day existence a little more peaceful. At the same time, something inside of me still wants to write about movies and that same feeling wants to share my thoughts with as many people as possible. One of the mediums that makes that possible is Facebook, so I guess I will reenter that world.
The movie that brings me back is "About Time." This is a movie that was directed by Richard Curtis, who either wrote or directed some of the finest romantic comedies I can bring to mind ("Notting Hill", "Love Actually", "Four Weddings and A Funeral"). It does something I have never seen before in a romantic comedy. It never presents a significant obstacle toward its principals getting together. Instead, the story is more existential. It wants to make greater points about the nature of life, in all of its joys and heartbreaks.
The movie follows a young man named Tim (Domhnall Gleeson). As Tim turns 21, his father (Bill Nighy) informs him that the men in the family all have the ability to travel back in time to events in their own life. Of course, Tim is doubtful at first, but quickly learns that he does indeed have this unusual ability. He uses this talent to woo the woman of his dreams (Rachel McAdams), and settles into his life. Only after that does he begin to become aware of how complicated life can be. Crises emerge in his life, and he comes to realize, for various reasons, that his talent cannot fix much of anything. Instead, he is left with a big question as to what he will do with this talent.
This is a great movie to watch as one returns from vacation. I am returning to work today after being gone for 2 weeks. One of the universally applicable messages of this movie is to embrace each day with all of its ups and downs. This is a valuable message to people like me, who see work as something of a distraction from time with my family. One valuable thing that Tim does in this movie is commit to live days twice. In so doing, he is able to "redo" a day that was not a good one. When he takes the time to redo his day, he sees many of the small joys of life that he had missed the first time around. At the end of the day the second time, he is able to see what a great day he truly had, and how much he had missed that the first time around.
Richard Curtis has made some great movies with some great universal themes. His characters clearly have different lives and different beliefs than I do, but his stories tap into some of the things that are true for all of us. Each day does indeed have so much joy and glory to it. I miss so much of that as I get bogged down in stress and the everyday grind. True, there are some days none of us would ever want to live again (if we're sane), but most days have a lot to offer if we simply give them a chance. I also love how this movie depicts the life together of two people who marry, have a family, and who truly love and like each other. So many romantic comedies are either about the hunt for or the dissolution of relationships. This story shows us a somewhat healthy relationship, and some of the true pleasure and joy that such a relationship can bring.
My wife Stephanie and I watched this movie on the plane back from LA, and we watched it again a couple of days later at home. We both loved it, partly because we both feel that good romantic comedies are very hard to find. As with other Curtis movies, there are wonderful, quirky minor characters, as well as a story that wears its heart on its sleeve. He is able to balance cynicism and sentimentality quite well. As I reenter the work force today, I would do well to let the lessons from this movie and (more importantly) the lessons from my faith go with me.
