Last Wednesday, it was date night. It was time for a cinema trip as it had been a while. I’d only heard a week previously about the new film ‘About Time,’ and that Rachael McAdams was in it – that’s all I needed to know.
Well it was just lovely.
A wise English teacher once told me to ‘suspend my disbelief’ when reading a book or watching a film, which I always took to quite simply mean lighten up, just go with it, so that’s what I did.
Of course, a film about time travel is going to be a little far-fetched at times, but in the end, after all my suspending of my disbelief, the overall message was really powerful.
When Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) reaches his twenty first birthday, he finds out that he can travel through time, and change things that have happened in his life. A comedic journey through re-runs of sexual encounters and love interests later, and a far deeper realisation occurs.
Eventually, Tim realises, and the audience is encouraged to realise too, that actually, if many of us had the chance to travel back in time, we might not even take it.
It portrays the idea that everything happens for a reason. That the paths that we choose, or that are laid out for us and we follow, dictate what our future holds. That if you’re meant to be with someone, you will be with them. And ultimately, that as we are unable to turn back time, we’d better look at life a little differently, to appreciate the little things, and to enjoy those special moments as much as we possibly can because they’re unlikely to ever happen again.
So without sounding too soppy or pathetic or unrealistic, just suspend your disbelief for a moment, take in something from your everyday life and appreciate it, a little more than usual.
And then tell me all about it!
Here are some of my favourite moments, that might otherwise just go unnoticed:
An old couple holding hands in the street
Finishing a charity run with one of my best friends
My Mum fixing my brother’s tie on his first day of work
Best of friends dancing the night away
Heels off, and a game of football with my beautifully dressed girls
Being caught in a laughing fit with my Aunty
A gorgeous sunset…even if it is just on the motorway!