---
title: "About Time: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/about-time/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/about-time"
critics_score: 57
critics_reviews: 22
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# About Time (2013): what the critics said

Critics' score 57 from 22 reviews: 9 positive, 3 mixed, 10 negative.

The critics are split almost down the middle on About Time, and the ones who like it tend to like it in spite of themselves. Most agree the film is warmest when it stops being a romance and becomes a story about a son and his father, and Bill Nighy draws praise in nearly every notice, positive or not. Domhnall Gleeson is widely thought an appealing lead, and several reviews find his pairing with Rachel McAdams the thing that keeps the picture afloat.

The reservations gather around sentimentality, length and a cosy, privileged worldview that a number of British critics find smug. Several also complain that the time-travel rules are loose and carry no consequences. A smaller group goes further: The Playlist and Eye for Film argue the hero’s use of his gift on the heroine is manipulative rather than sweet. The spread is very wide, from Collider’s near-rave to Eye for Film’s outright dismissal.

## Empire — Mark Dinning

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 8 August 2013. 

The critic calls it Curtis's most interesting, mature and deeply moving film, praising the father-son focus and performances by Gleeson and Nighy. He singles out the shift to emotional depth and family themes for praise over the rom-com elements.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/time-4-review/)

## Radio Times — Alexia Skinitis

Rating 4/5. 

The critic calls it a cute comedic yarn that ranks highly among Curtis classics, highlighting the father-son relationship over the romance as the film's heart.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-yojsaz/about-time/)

## Los Angeles Times — Michael Phillips

Fi1m's normalised score 78/100 (inferred from the text). 31 October 2013. 

The review recommends the film as a wildly improbable but ultimately charming romantic comedy that works despite its time-travel premise and contrived elements. It singles out the effortlessly skillful cast, especially Bill Nighy, for making the material land.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-about-time-review-story.html)

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

Fi1m's normalised score 78/100 (inferred from the text). 5 September 2013. 

The critic finds the film a good-natured, daft but sweet fantasy romance that is impossible to dislike despite its traditional Curtis elements and Hugh Grant-replicant lead. It is heartfelt with a fragile sincerity, though it requires a sweet tooth.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/sep/05/about-time-review)

## RogerEbert.com — Susan Wloszczyna

Fi1m's normalised score 77/100 (inferred from the text). 1 November 2013. 

The critic finds herself seduced by the film's feel-good romantic message despite its self-indulgent elements and is won over by the charming performances. She singles out the impeccable casting, particularly Domhnall Gleeson as the lead and Bill Nighy as the father, along with a standout comic turn by Tom Hollander.

[Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/about-time-2013)

## Variety — Leslie Felperin

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 8 August 2013. Festival review. 

The review calls the film a sweet, familiar and reassuringly bland romance that evokes deja vu but is buoyed by strong chemistry between leads. It singles out the radiant, believable pairing of Domhnall Gleeson and Rachel McAdams as what keeps the picture aloft.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2013/film/global/film-review-about-time-1200575189/)

## Screen Daily

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 8 August 2013. Festival review. 

A warm-hearted time-travelling rom-com that amuses and hits emotional notes especially in the father-son relationship, but lacks balance or tone and feels familiar with a ponderous structure.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/about-time/5059085.article)

## Slant Magazine — Chris Cabin

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 25 September 2013. 

The critic calls About Time a surprisingly thoughtful romantic comedy that keeps emotional gooeyness modulated with big laughs and strong performances for most of its runtime. It praises the pacing and self-reflective ideas about life and filmmaking but faults the softening into safe, sappy family-values territory at the end.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/about-time/)

## The Hollywood Reporter — Stephen Dalton

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 8 August 2013. 

The critic finds About Time a modestly charming rom-com with time-travel elements, praising the lead performances and laughs but criticizing its overlong length, thin characters, and heavy sentimentality. It admires the ambition but notes it falls short of classics like Groundhog Day.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/time-film-review-2-602866/)

## Time Out — Dave Calhoun

Rating 3/5. 8 August 2013. 

The critic finds the film familiar and comforting yet messy with patchy humour, praising the tender father-son relationship but noting some trite moments.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/about-time)

## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane

Fi1m's normalised score 44/100 (inferred from the text). 3 November 2013. 

The critic sees the film as emblematic of Curtis's metaphysical smugness and class-bound sentimentality, where time travel serves only to smooth over life's imperfections without real stakes. He singles out the softened, blunted details and the heroine's implausible descent into demure domesticity as symptomatic flaws.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/11/11/back-to-the-past)

## The New York Times — A.O. Scott

Fi1m's normalised score 43/100 (inferred from the text). 31 October 2013. 

The review portrays the film as a flimsy, complacent romantic comedy that measures the decline of British manhood through its passive hero. It singles out the dull, frictionless ideal of happiness and the film's militant complacency as a key complaint.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/movies/about-time-a-british-confection-from-richard-curtis.html)

## Evening Standard

Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 19 September 2013. 

The critic finds the film cosy to the point of smug, with an insular and patronising worldview despite an endearing lead performance. He singles out the privileged hero's effortless success and the it's-a-wonderful-life message for complaint.

[Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/about-time-film-review-8801175.html)

## Vulture — David Edelstein

Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 1 November 2013. 

The review portrays About Time as a sentimental sermon on living in the moment, appreciating some jokes and the time-travel premise but lamenting the shift from humor to heavy-handed homily.

[Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2013/11/movie-review-about-time.html)

## The Independent

Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 6 September 2013. 

The critic despises the film as glib and inept despite an improvement on Curtis's prior work, strong cast and attractive locations. He singles out the smug portrayal of privileged middle-class life and the clumsy handling of time-travel rules for particular complaint.

[Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/film-review-about-time-richard-curtis-s-directorial-swan-song-is-awful-actually-8800865.html)

## Collider — Matt Goldberg

Rating A-. 31 October 2013. 

The critic praises how Richard Curtis uses the time travel concept to create both a charming love story and a powerful message about cherishing the present rather than the past. The film is noted for its relatable characters, witty comedy, strong performances especially by Gleeson, McAdams, and Nighy, and its emotional depth beyond typical rom-com tropes.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/about-time-review/)

## Den of Geek — Simon Brew

Rating 3/5. 3 September 2013. 

The critic praises the film's charm, humor, emotional depth, and distinctive British voice while noting its familiar themes and warm characters. They criticize its excessive length and the time-travel device feeling underused beyond a narrative tool.

[Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/about-time-review-2/)

## Digital Spy — Stella Papamichael

Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 4 September 2013. 

The critic finds the film uneven, overlong, and implausible with familiar Curtis tropes, though it has some witty moments and strong performances from Gleeson and Nighy. They suggest Curtis is better as a writer than director.

[Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a509440/about-time-review-richard-curtiss-directorial-swansong/)

## HeyUGuys — Steven Neish

Rating 2/5. 9 August 2013. Festival review. 

The romantic comedy elements work reasonably well thanks to charming leads and sweet chemistry, but the film fails completely as science fiction due to inconsistent rules and a lack of dramatic stakes or consequences.

[Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/about-time-review/)

## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff

Rating D. 30 October 2013. 

The film is critiqued for its creepy, unethical use of time travel to manipulate a relationship without consent or consequences, turning the female lead into an object and revealing itself as a story about men lying to women. It offers mild comedy but no real drama or moral engagement.

[Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-domnhall-gleeson-uses-time-travel-to-romance-rachel-mcadams-in-about-time-20131030/)

## The Wrap

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 9 October 2013. 

The critic finds the film overly sentimental and mawkish without enough of Curtis's usual witty dialogue to balance it. The time-travel premise leads to a message about living in the moment, but the lack of sharp comedy and reliance on sap makes the story feel tedious.

[Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/time-review-minutes-drag-like-hours-mawkish-time-travel-romance/)

## Eye for Film — Scott Macdonald

Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 8 September 2013. Festival review. 

The critic calls the film lowest-common-denominator saccharine with an abusive, manipulative protagonist at its core whose time-travel powers enable non-consensual behavior toward women. Female characters are poorly written as objects or victims, and the story fails both as sci-fi and human drama.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/about-time-2013-film-review-by-scott-macdonald)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/about-time.md