While “About Time” advertises itself as a light-hearted romance-centric narrative, those who have seen the movie know how deep it goes. Dealing with universal themes of achieving happiness and the fragility of life, it’s easy to see how “About Time” can catch viewers off guard and get them thinking. However, what transformed the film into an emotional rollercoaster for many was its handling of familial topics, particularly in the tenderly-crafted father-son relationship between Tim Lake and his dad, James (Bill Nighy).
Redditor u/Roflcopter71 shared that a line spoken towards the end, where the two travel back in time to spend time on the beach during Tim’s childhood, was particularly hard-hitting. “His dad says something along the lines of ‘just let me watch this one more time,’ and it gets me every time,” they commented. “I would look up the scene to get the exact quote but I don’t feel like bawling my eyes out while I’m at work.”
Others, such as u/TheHickeyStand, opened up about how the movie’s events conjured up hard memories: “My dad was built a bit like Bill Nighy and had beaten cancer twice when this film came out … Couldn’t drive after seeing the film. A couple of years later, the cancer finally beat dad … It kills me watching it again, but I can feel dad through Bill.” Redditor u/orange_cuse explained why they can’t rewatch the film, stating, “Watched this movie around the time my grandmother was passing away. This movie made me rain buckets out of my eyeballs. Still can’t rewatch to this day from fear of uncontrollably leaking.”
