The Uplifting Movie You Should Watch to Feel Better
and a side tangent on niches
The world is on fire, and it feels like every day every hour, there is a new horror unfurling. I acknowledge my privilege in that most of what going on isn’t impacting me in the same way as is the case for others. I am a cis white woman, and I’ll admit to feeling guilty when I think about stepping away from the news and pausing a doom scroll. I tell myself, ‘well you’re not suffering, so the least you can do is stay informed.’ But I know that is flawed logic. I think most of us can agree with the sentiment that while we want to be up-to-date on current affairs, we will burn out and become desensitized to the onslaught of horror in this world if we don’t step away from time to time. It does no one, and particularly not yourself, any good to keep fighting the good fight if you’re constantly engaged with the news. Rest is also resistance and so is regulating your nervous system. So this is me giving you (and also myself) permission to step away, even for the length of one movie to disengage with the news. And if you’re going to watch only one movie, please make it 2013’s About Time.
One of my all-time favorite films is Richard Curtis’s About Time, and if you’ve never watched it, allow me to convince you. And if it’s already beloved, I hope I do this justice for you. But first, allow me a little side tangent here (I promise, I’ll bring it back around).
I have been struggling with venturing into a new niche on Instagram. Honestly, my engagement has been stagnant over there for about a year and a half. I first noticed it when I tried Patreon. I mentioned the “P” word once, and engagement tanked. I know Meta doesn’t like you promoting other platforms, but it truly feels like my account has a mark on it that won’t allow me to recover from. Then I announced I was finished cooking specifically Gilmore Girls (I’m still cooking from pop culture, but I guess I’ve strayed too far from my niche) and Instagram said, cool, we don’t really want to show that to anyone.
And really, views, follows, engagement isn’t all that important to me. I started Eating Gilmore purely as a pandemic project, and once I had the opportunity to, I decided not to monetize the project, so that it would remain a hobby in my eyes. I only tried out Patreon as a bonus for extra content when I announced Eating Gilmore Encore, but I only maintained that for a couple months because the monetization of it all made me feel too much pressure to crank out quality content on a weekly basis on top of my regular content.
When I started on here, I decided to allow for paid subscriptions, but the intention really was if anyone felt inclined to pay me for my content, they could. And a few people have, and let me tell you, it means the world to me, especially in such a rough economy. Last night, I received my first year-in full paid subscriber, and that blew my mind. Writing isn’t something I feel is one of my strong suits, but this little space has been incredibly fun to work on, and I’m honored that someone feels my writing is worth paying for a year out. It feels very Rory Gilmore “a real writing job!”
Then this morning, I received a notification from Substack that I’m in the top 100 rising in food and drink. Which I completely forgot that I set my topic to that when I joined. I had the intention of this being more of an integration of my cooking project, media on the menu. I still plan to talk about food here too (and I’m about to, hence the bringing it back around to About Time), so I don’t fully know what to pick as my topic. All this to say, niches are silly and I hate that these platforms force us to choose. Why can’t we just create what we want to and if people love that thing too, they can find us!
Oh! The bringing it back around to food. I recently recreated the strawberry mousse from About Time for media on the menu. This dessert is featured when our main characters first meet. They have dinner at Dans Le Noir, a restaurant in London with blind waitstaff in which you dine in total darkness to enhance other senses while eating. This mousse was easy to make and a decadent summer treat with fresh fruit. Okay, back to our regularly scheduled programming of me convincing you to go watch About Time.
The premise:
If you haven’t seen About Time, I will avoid spoilers. There will be a mild spoiler in the costume section, so feel free to skip. The premise of this movie is Tim (played by Domhnall Gleeson) finds out on his 21st birthday that the men in his family are time travelers. He then meets Mary (the lovely Rachel McAdams), and their connection is electric. The only problem? Tim goes back in time to save his friend’s play only to miss his meet cute with Mary. After several failed attempts, Tim meets Mary again on the correct timeline and we witness their relationship blossom.
I adore their relationship, but what I love even more and what makes this film one of the greats in my eyes is the lesson Tim learns about embracing and enjoying the little moments in everyday life (more on this later). Now, I’ll make two warnings here. One, this movie does have some plot holes. The rules of time travel are hazy and don’t make sense all of the time. However, it's really neither here nor there. You can understand the plot and understand the message despite the fuzzy rules. My second warning: this is a sad movie. So while I think overall it’s uplifting, I don’t want to downplay the sad moments. I will include a trigger warning at the end of this post should you need one before watching the movie.
The scenery:
Set in England, this movie’s beautiful scenery is balanced between the idyllic seaside in Cornwall and the bustling streets of London. Our main character, Tim, grew up in a gorgeous home right on the sea that makes me want to scream, “how does it feel to live MY dream?” Between this house and the cottage from the Holiday, I’m afraid I need to move to the English countryside.
As an adult, Tim moves into the city to work as a lawyer. If you didn’t already know this about me, I have a mild obsession with London, and I fully blame being raised by What a Girl Wants and Winning London. So of course, I love the city shots in this movie. One of my favorite scenes is a montage of Tim and Mary’s relationship developing as they come and go through a tube stop set to Jon Boden, Sam Sweeny, & Ben Coleman’s ‘How Long Will I Love You’ (more on the music later). It’s a sweet moment in the film in which we as the audience are given little glimpses into everyday moments between Tim and Mary. We see them coming home in matching dog costumes from a Halloween party. We see their arms laden with Christmas gifts with Tim’s sister, Kit Kat, there for a visit. We see the simple moments between them: off their separate ways for work and Tim has missed his train. While the London underground isn’t what I would call incredible scenery, I love it as the backdrop for this scene.
The costuming:
(only read this section if you’re okay with mild spoilers)
Putting Rachel McAdms in a red wedding dress was brilliant. I’m of the belief that Rachel can pull off any look in any color, but the bold wedding dress in this movie is so breathtakingly beautiful, and I think it’s such a smart character choice for Mary. She doesn’t care for tradition or a grandiose wedding, but she is going to be memorable. While Tim is the main character, Mary isn’t overshadowed by him, and I think allowing her to shine in such a unique dress on her wedding day was a great decision.
And before I talk about other costumes, can I please have a moment to talk about the wedding? Tim asks Mary to walk down the aisle to (in her words) some Italian weirdo singing Il Mondo. And sure, Italian opera is an odd choice for a wedding processional, but it just works. The way Mary walks down the aisle gracefully and moves to the music makes me squeal. I love the exchange Tim and Mary have as she walks toward him. And the parallel of Tim and his father dancing similarly to the song, precious. I also love how their reception is rained on and they move everything inside Tim’s childhood home. It makes for an intimate reception that feels perfect for the newly wedded couple. We also have some time traveling moments as Tim goes through various best men, only to settle on his dad, which is the perfect choice.
(spoiler free)
A few other favorite costume moments:
Mary’s dress she wears on their first (to her) date. It feels like something Allie would wear in the Notebook. And the sweater she pulls on after? So cozy! I adore her red shoes in this outfit (a nod to the dress later perhaps?), and I think they make her extra long walk home with Tim all the sweeter because I just know her feet were hurting.
The white blazer outfit Charlotte (Margot Robbie) wears. Most of this movie feels fairly timeless (heh heh) to me, but this outfit is so 2013, but I honestly love it because of that.
Mary’s Rory Gilmore vibes sweater when she meets Tim’s parents. I don’t love the back buttons, but the sweater is so cozy and again the “how does it feel to live my dream” coastal grandma of it all.
Kit Kat’s New Year’s Eve outfit. Kit Kat is always a little miss-matchy with messy hair, and this outfit is no exception. However, it feels so perfect for her character (in purple no doubt) and her little flower crown is adorable.
The charm:
This movie isn’t what I would necessarily call unconventional, but it strays away from the usual romcom formula. Yes, Tim and Mary’s relationship is at the center of the movie, there’s also the growth Tim experiences and the lessons we learn alongside him as well as his relationship with his family. The Friday night movies even in the rain? A cup of tea on the beach? “That’s the whole day gone.” I also am so grateful that this movie never deploys a miscommunication plot or third-act breakup like most romance movies and books. What I love so much about this movie is how real the characters are (despite the time-traveling obviously).
There is this charm exuding through the entire film. Tim is sort of a goofball, inherited from his father. Kit Kat is also silly, but such a loveable character. Honestly, every character works so well in this cast that you need all of them for the movie to work as well as it does. You root for every single one of them, even sleazy Jay, dorky Rory, and crabby Harry.
The music:
I.love.this.score.
Seriously, it’s one of my all-time favorite movie scores. It pairs beautifully with the cinematography and the love of not only Tim and Mary but also his love with his family. The score moves you through the film’s highs and lows and serves as an almost security blanket through the emotional beats. And the soundtrack is strong too. Some early 00s throwbacks that encapsulate the early years at the beginning of the year and lesser known love ballads that will surely make you swoon. We also hear Spigel Im Spiegl which I was first introduced to in Wit with Emma Thompson in a heartbreaking scene, so that song always hits me in the feels. I need this soundtrack to be put on vinyl (red variant please).
The magic:
As I mentioned, what puts this movie in the upper echelon for me is Tim learning to love the small moments of everyday life. He realizes, despite being able to time travel, it’s the moment you’re in that matters most and we can find something every day to appreciate. Even during our hardest days. And that to me is why I think this movie is the one to put on when you need to feel better, when you need to heal your heart with all the heaviness in the world. I won’t pretend and say it magically will make all problems vanish, but I try to stop in moments of overwhelm and think, what is the “About Time” moment I can pull from here.
Trigger warnings: car accident, cancer, death
More cheers, less fears,
Larisa
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