MovieChat Forums > About Time (2013) Discussion > The most middle-class film ever made?

The most middle-class film ever made?

posted 8 years ago by HarveyManfredSinJohn
18 replies | jump to latest

The main character is a plain, gawky, inarticulate but 'oh-so-charming' upper-middle-class twit, raised by his adorably 'F bomb' and middle finger throwing family in a huge idyllic mansion, who casually makes sexist and homophobic comments, but is nevertheless adored by all women, particularly Americans.

There are no black or ethnic minority characters, save for a bit-part legal boss who comes across as a bit of a jerk in his few scenes.

And the one character who comes across as remotely working or lower-middle-class, the sister's handsome but feckless boyfriend, is the closest the film has to a villain. How dare he disturb this oh-so-nice upper-middle-class, public-school and Oxbridge educated, utopia with his vile working-class values!

And everything ends in an oh-so-nice way, with no disturbing ethical or moral questions and implications raised by the fact that the 'hero' has basically lied and cheated to manipulate and win the heart of the woman he ultimately marries and raises three children with.

RIP:
David Bowie (1947-2016)
Alan Rickman (1946-2016)
Prince (Rogers Nelson) (1958-2016)

[–] lilactime2014 8 years ago

You must be great fun at parties. Citizen Smith in your top 10?

It's a great Film. Open your mind remove the chips from both shoulders and the world will seem a better place. A shame you can only see things in a negative manner, a real shame.

'tler

[–] magic_hunter 8 years ago

I agree -- I'm rewatching my copy right now. It's one of my favorite movies from the past decade -- and that's among many from other countries with people of various ethnicities and economic levels (but I shouldn't have to say that, should I?)

[–] magic_hunter 8 years ago

I love how inaccurately marketed this film was -- two thirds of the way through it, you realize it's less a sci-fi or even a rom-com than a sneaky tear-jerker about the connection between fathers and their kids. I mean literally: the final trip from from the ping pong table to the beach makes me cry every time. Maybe the original poster isn't a parent yet.

[–] HarveyManfredSinJohn 8 years ago

Maybe the original poster isn't a parent yet.

No, and I doubt I'll ever get to be one either. This society doesn't make it easy for hard-working but poor strivers like myself without Tim's privileges and upper-middle-class connections, and thus who'd be interested in having kids with a poor schmuck like me?

RIP:
David Bowie (1947-2016)
Alan Rickman (1946-2016)
Prince (Rogers Nelson) (1958-2016)

[–] magic_hunter 8 years ago

While I disagree about the value of this movie, I do think you are good at critical analysis. Your original post here and your "rapey" one make well-reasoned arguments (though I also disagree with the latter, since each time Tim approaches Mary in bed she consents to have sex with him; hell, in the real world long-time partners can't each equally remember the details of all their sexual encounters). The problem is you're overlaying those skills onto something that, from start to finish, asks us to Suspend Our Disbelief. Bringing a college seminar approach to a discussion of "About Time," just makes you come across as a killjoy, not as a source of social justice enlightenment.

And blaming society for your future prospects on things like becoming a parent sells short your own agency in life. I think if you set aside that fatalistic attitude and scrape together a few quid, you'll be able to take someone on a nice date. Maybe the new Ken Loach movie is more your cup of tea?

[–] HarveyManfredSinJohn 8 years ago

Thank you for your diplomatic and complimentary response. I always respect and like people who can disagree with me in a polite, reasonable and respectful way. 

You're probably right that I am taking this film a bit too seriously. It's also hard to articulate why I thought the way Tim kept turning back time to bed Mary three times was 'rapey'. I suppose that isn't the right term since, like you state, as far as Mary is concerned she only beds him once and it is entirely consensual. Still I do feel that Tim was being manipulative and misrepresenting himself as an expert lover, something I find a little creepy and unnerving. Yes, many a woman and indeed man would be delighted to sleep with someone who 'instinctively' understood what turned them on and got to their 'soft spot' so to speak, but from an emotional POV I think I would feel a little uneasy about such an apparently expert lover, and like I said, Tim was being manipulative.

And as critically as I have been of Richard Curtis, I must also reassure you, I'm not a complete killjoy. I still like Four Weddings, Notting Hill and even the much (and unfairly IMHO) maligned Love Actually. Heck, I even like The Boat That Rocked, despite my unease about one particular scene in which a rape by deception is committed (and in this instance I have no such ambiguities about saying that this was a form of rape).

And you're right that I shouldn't blame society for my life prospects and that it does really depend on my own initiative. But I have OCD, so I am very particular about the type of direction and ambitions I have for my life, and irrespective of my own psychological issues, one cannot deny that social background and the connections and networks people build during the early parts of their life (i.e. via their family, the right school and the right university) are extremely important to one's life chances.

RIP:
David Bowie (1947-2016)
Alan Rickman (1946-2016)
Prince (Rogers Nelson) (1958-2016)

[–] magic_hunter 8 years ago

Sounds good!

Of course, as with everything else (except rape -- ha!), it's all relative. I certainly had a great upbringing, wanting for nothing, doing well in school, etc. But all but one or two friends from the first several decades of my life have fallen away -- yet I have created a fine adult life that's barely connected to that earlier one. Good luck with yours.
Maybe we'll both agree on Richard Curtis's next film ... about Winnie-the-Pooh!

[–] timmybadger 8 years ago

Re your comment about no ethnic minorities.. Tim is from Cornwall and the plot centres around him and his family. I am from Somerset, not that far from Cornwall, and a story about my life would also feature only white people. It's not that unusual that a film set in the West Country has no ethnic people because there really isn't a big ethnic population in this part of the world.

Even now, as a 32 year old who works full time, I don't know a single black person. See, really not that unusual.

[–] martinintenerife 8 years ago

Don't waste your energy Timmy, people like the OP are the type that would have a black person, an ethnic minority person, a gay person and a transgender person in every film, just for the sake of having them in the film so he could call his cast 'diverse'. People like him are about pandering to political correctness, and to hell with reality.

[–] kinshasaaaaa 8 years ago

Sadly, the film is set in central London. It's quite diverse around here...

[–] timmybadger 8 years ago

Set in central London, following a family (and friends) from Cornwall. When I go to London, I don't turn black.

[–] lilactime2014 8 years ago

it's funny AND true.

'tler

[–] Viltrumite 7 years ago

All of these kind romantic comedies focus on people who live in posh parts of the city and have swanky jobs. The thing is, this is one of the few where this is justified, given that its protagonist has superpowers that allow him to improve his life.

[–] The_nettle 7 years ago

How is the sister's boyfriend shown to be working class?

Why is it a negative to be middle class?

We have to be careful to not tar all people of the same class with the same brush; just as you wouldnt wish for all middle class people to tar all working class people with the same brush.

The best person you can be is to give everyone you meet a chance and not judge or discriminate.

Most writer's write from their own experience, particularly if they want to write well. And this is Richard Curtis' experience.

If all you can glean from this film is a diversity problem then you have problems.

[–] lts20stl 7 years ago

I'm just wondering why near the end of this film it seemingly ceased to be a story about love between a man and woman and became about a father and son. It was a strange shift of focus and overshadowed the romantic relationship between Tim and Mary in my opinion.

"I'm going to run them off their feet." -Harold Abrahams

[–] lts20stl 7 years ago

[–] bozo_500 (12165) 3 years ago

Most unWoke film of all 'time'😉