About Time
A whimsical romantic dramedy that blossoms into a poignant meditation on life, love, and the extraordinary beauty found within the ordinary, like a cherished photograph slowly developing its colors.
About Time
About Time

"What if every moment in life came with a second chance?"

04 September 2013 United Kingdom 123 min ⭐ 7.9 (8,919)
Director: Richard Curtis
Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Tom Hollander, Margot Robbie
Drama Fantasy Romance
Appreciation of the Ordinary The Love of Family The Imperfections of Life and Love The Passage of Time and Mortality
Budget: $12,000,000
Box Office: $87,100,449

About Time - Characters & Cast

Character Analysis

Tim Lake

Domhnall Gleeson

Archetype: The Everyman Hero
Key Trait: Awkwardly charming and kind-hearted

Motivation

Initially, Tim's primary motivation is to find a girlfriend and experience love. This evolves into a deeper desire to create a happy life for his family and to cherish the time he has with them, especially his father.

Character Arc

Tim begins as an awkward and insecure young man who uses his newfound ability to time travel to fix his romantic blunders. As the story progresses, he matures from someone who seeks to perfect his life into someone who learns to appreciate its imperfections. He eventually transcends the need for his special ability, finding profound happiness in the ordinary moments of his life with his family.

Mary

Rachel McAdams

Archetype: The Love Interest
Key Trait: Infectiously fetching and sweet

Motivation

Mary seeks a genuine and loving relationship. She is motivated by her love for Tim and her desire to build a family with him. She represents the beautiful, ordinary life that Tim learns to cherish.

Character Arc

Mary is presented as a charming and slightly insecure woman who becomes the object of Tim's affection. While her character arc is less pronounced than Tim's, she serves as his anchor to the present and the catalyst for his understanding of true love. Her love for Tim is genuine, independent of his time-traveling manipulations, which is a key element of their relationship.

James Lake (Dad)

Bill Nighy

Archetype: The Mentor
Key Trait: Wise and loving

Motivation

His motivation is to guide his son towards a happy and meaningful life, and to spend as much quality time with his family as possible before he dies. He imparts the wisdom that the key to happiness is not changing the past, but appreciating the present.

Character Arc

Tim's father is the wise and gentle mentor who introduces him to the family secret of time travel. He has already learned the lessons that Tim is just beginning to discover. His arc is one of quiet acceptance of his mortality, using his ability not to cheat death, but to savor the time he has left with his family. His guidance and philosophy are the emotional and thematic core of the film.

Kit Kat

Lydia Wilson

Archetype: The Free Spirit
Key Trait: Impulsive and vulnerable

Motivation

Kit Kat is searching for love and happiness, often in impulsive and self-destructive ways. Her journey is about learning to overcome her personal struggles with the help of those who love her.

Character Arc

Kit Kat is Tim's free-spirited and somewhat troubled younger sister. Her struggles and a car accident prompt Tim to try and manipulate her past, leading to unforeseen and undesirable consequences. This experience teaches Tim a crucial lesson about the limits of his power. Kit Kat's arc is about finding stability and happiness with the support of her family, rather than through supernatural intervention.

Cast

Domhnall Gleeson as Tim Lake
Rachel McAdams as Mary
Bill Nighy as Dad
Tom Hollander as Harry
Margot Robbie as Charlotte
Lydia Wilson as Kit Kat
Lindsay Duncan as Mum
Richard Cordery as Uncle D
Joshua McGuire as Rory
Will Merrick as Jay
Vanessa Kirby as Joanna
Tom Hughes as Jimmy Kincade
Clemmie Dugdale as Ginger Jenny
Harry Hadden-Paton as Rupert
Mitchell Mullen as Mary's Father, Fitz