About Time (2013)

Most people think so. 77% of audiences gave it a thumbs up, by Google's archived audience score. Critics gave it 63%.

The night after another unsatisfactory New Year's party, Tim's father tells his son that the men in his family have always had the ability to travel through time. They can't change history, but they can change what happens and has happened in their own lives. Thus begins the start of a lesson in learning to appreciate life itself as it is, as it comes, and most importantly, the people living alongside us. Wikipedia ↗

About Time is a 2013 British romantic comedy-drama written and directed by Richard Curtis, the filmmaker behind Love Actually, Notting Hill, and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Domhnall Gleeson stars as Tim Lake, a young Englishman who learns from his father, played by Bill Nighy, that the men in his family have the ability to travel back in time by standing in a dark space and clenching their fists. Tim initially uses his power to improve his romantic life, eventually winning the heart of Mary, played by Rachel McAdams, but gradually discovers that time travel cannot prevent loss, aging, or death — and that the real gift is learning to live each ordinary day as if you chose it.

Richard Curtis subverted expectations by using the time travel premise not for science fiction or even primarily for romance but as a vehicle for exploring the father-son relationship between Tim and his father, who is quietly dying of cancer. Bill Nighy's performance — warm, witty, understated, and ultimately devastating — was the film's emotional anchor, and the scenes between Gleeson and Nighy achieved a tenderness rare in any genre. The film earned $87 million worldwide on a $12 million budget and has developed a devoted following among audiences who consider it Curtis's most emotionally honest work.