by Annie Vischer
Rachel McAdams first captured our attention as the intimidating bombshell that was Mean Girls‘ Regina George, before capturing our hearts and winning an MTV Award for THAT kiss in The Notebook (catch the video below). Her acting accolades have since abounded with roles opposite Eric Bana in The Time Traveller’s Wife, and Robert Downey Jr in blockbuster Sherlock Holmes keeping her at the top of Hollywood’s most revered lists.
Rachel’s 2013 venture saw her take to the world of time travelling again, as Mary in Richard Curtis’ About Time. Her sprightly quirkiness and wide smile made her perfect for the part of the ‘American girl in London’ that steals the heart of Domhnall Gleeson’s bashful character Tim. The film follows the couple from their first meeting…and of course their other first meeting (you’ll get it when you watch the film), right through to their life as a married couple.
McAdams versatility has already been thoroughly showcased in her acting CV to date, we need no other proof that she is one of the most adaptable actresses around, but the subtlety with which we see her character grow, mature and settle in this film is beautiful. Rachel McAdams talent for instantly ingratiating herself to her audience intertwines perfectly with the Curtis-esque sincerity of the screenplay to form a character in Mary that we can at once relate to and root for. Here we hear from Rachel herself about what it was like to take on the role and how she found working with the Brit film royalty that is Richard Curtis.
On reading the script and accepting the part – I just was sent the script and just read it and, you know, it’s always a good sign when you read it quite quickly. You don’t have to put it down and pick it up, or you don’t get distracted by the laundry in the corner or whatever, so yeah, I just sort of read it all in one go and just enjoyed it immensely.
On time travel and the themes of the film – Time travel is so romantic, it pulls on that idealistic side of us and that dreamer part of you, so what if? And what if I could do it all over again? But the idea at the end of it is maybe just do it once, really well, or give it your best shot because we, mere mortals – not living in the film world, can’t go back so… you know, simple, but a story worth telling.
On her character Mary – She is far, far away from home just trying to find her feet at the beginning of the movie. She is a young professional reader at a publishing house and kind of trying to find her way, a little insecure. I like to call her Mary Mary quite contrary because she’s got this funny mix of confidence and then total insecurity.
On working with Richard Curtis – You can tell that he is very close to it and it’s very personal. He brings so much of himself to it, he’s very generous with his spirit and I’ve never heard as many nice things about a person as I have about Richard before having even met him. I was excited to work with him…Whenever you say you’re working on a Richard Curtis project everybody sort of goes ‘Aw that’s so nice, is it nice? That must be nice’ and it is!
From the British-loved and award-winning rom-com mastermind Richard Curtis (Love Actually, Notting Hill) comes ABOUT TIME, a charming and heartwarming story about romance, family and second chances, the perfect gift this Valentine’s. Starring Bill Nighy (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Love Actually) Rachel McAdams (The Notebook , Mean Girls) and Domhnall Gleeson (Anna Karenina, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2) expect tears and laughter on a path to destiny, as ABOUT TIME is released on Blu-ray™ and DVD – both with UltraViolet™ – and digital download from 3rd February 2014. Pre order here.
About Time is available on DVD from, take a look at the trailer below.