New Year’s Films 11 – About Time

Our final film in this series devoted to writing a New Year’s Eve film is About Time [2013] by Richard Curtis.

Think of a New Year’s Eve film that’s also a time travel movie and you’ve captured the dual nature of About Time. Take a look at the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OIFdWk83no

The premise of the film is that a slightly dorky kid is told by his dad that the male members of their family can time travel. Similar to the great film Groundhog’s Day, this film allows the main character to experience the same day/event over and over again.

First time making love with his dream girl doesn’t go well? Just go back to his ‘present’ and time travel so that he can try making love to her again.

Interestingly, this film wasn’t as huge a hit as Richard Curtis’s films usually are. So it’s interesting to take a look and ask yourself Why? It certainly made money and wasn’t hated by the critics, but it didn’t have the incredible following of Curtis’s Four Weddings and a Funeral or Notting Hill or Love, Actually.

Is it the story? Was it too convoluted? Too unbelievable? Or was it the casting? Was the young guy TOO dorky to make it work?

This is a film to sit down with and analyze. What worked for you? What didn’t? And when you decide what didn’t work, ask yourself how you’d change it.

Or just go back to square one and work with the premise. For example, instead of it being the male members of the family who can time travel, what if it’s the female members of the family who have this power? How would that change the story? Or what if the time period was different? Instead of being set in the present, what if it was set during the Vietnam War? SO many possibilities.

Using films to help you become a better writer is both fun and instructive. Consider it your sandbox time. Play around with premises and story-lines of films. Ask yourself how you would do them differently. Ask yourself what characters you’d create for your story. Who knows what you might come up with!

So. We’ve come to the end of our look at New Year’s Eve films. There are lots more out there waiting to be written, and although New Year’s Eve films aren’t as popular as Christmas films, they’re right up there, so it’s the kind of script that you might find easier to get read by the powers that be in the biz.

But it’s March already. While you’re working on New Year’s Eve ideas, let’s move on to something completely different next week.

And the most important thing, whatever you choose to write, just keep on writing!!!

Copyright © Diane Lake

13Mar22

Email Diane a question to Diane@DianeLake.com