First Hit: It was thoughtful, funny and makes a good point – pay attention to each moment because that is where life exists.
The men in Tim’s (Domhnall Gleeson) family have the ability to go back in time and redo/retry events. They, like Tim, get told by their fathers when they are 21 years old. Tim’s dad (Bill Nighy) tells him that the best way he can use this power is for something he loved.
Tim wants to be loved and to love. He meets Mary (Rachel McAdams) in a dark dinner house (this is actually both funny and interesting) and gets her phone number. Because he re-winds the night to help is uncle with his opening night play, he doesn’t get to keep the phone number and although he has the experience of meeting she doesn’t.
The whole film is about the choices he makes, some for himself and some for others and the resulting consequences. In the end he realizes it is about paying attention to each and every little thing. The actors, especially Nighy, are lively, interesting and funny.
Gleeson is very good as the thoughtful young man who wants to and finds love. McAdams is funny and delightful as Mary. Nighy is so wonderful to watch and steals every scene he’s in. Lynda Wilson (playing Kit Kat), Lindsay Duncan (playing Mum) and Richard Cordery (playing Uncle D) were all very good. Richard Curtis wrote a fun crisp script and directed this cast in the same way.
Overall: This is a very fun film and worth the price of admission.