In Time

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Andrew Niccol

October 20, 2011

As the film industry continues to grow, ideas for great movies slowly diminish. However, while “In Time” follows many classic sci-fi films that present an unexplainable overarching technological power, it also tells a real-world lesson: time is money. It’s sent in a brutal and direct way but that’s how it is best told, otherwise the movie would focus on sending a message and neglect the action and drama.

“In Time” is about a parallel world in which time is money. After age 25, humans are given a biological clock of one year which they can extend by doing work or engaging in criminal activity. Much like our world though, there is plenty of time to go around and nobody has to die at 30 because they can’t afford to live. Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) recognizes the injustice and wants to do something about it, but like the other 99% of the world, he is poor and lives on the edge.

One evening Will converses with a man (Matt Bomer) who has lived for 100 years and still has another century in the bank. He explains that he is tired of living and they talk until they both fall asleep. When Will awakes he finds 106 years have been added to his clock, and when looking out the window he sees the man preparing to jump off the building. Will runs out to stop him but is too late and he is recorded by security making him a prime suspect in the man’s death. Will is now on the run with more than a century on him, so he decides to travel to the wealthy district in hope of hiding from the Time Keepers (police). There he finds Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried), the daughter of the richest man alive (Vincent Kartheiser) who is basically immortal, convincing her to join him in the run against their dystopian world.

Justin Timberlake proves once again he has talents outside of singing and songwriting. He set such a high bar in “The Social Network” that topping it in a movie with many flaws is nearly impossible. But he does what he always does and easily gets the audience on his side, showing just the right amount of confidence and vulnerability. On the other hand, Sylvia is a little harder to take seriously. She goes from a spoiled rich kid to instantly joining a random to rebel against the system. It makes her character seem very unsure about herself and although it is mostly to piss off her father, it’s hard to believe someone like her could overthrow anything.

The film keeps at a steady pace which many could say is its downfall. As a result (aside from the high-stakes poker scene where the cost of losing is death) a lot of the action scenes are limp and unfulfilling. However, there are some clever scenes sprinkled throughout the film, one of which is when a car salesman asks where Will would like his new car displayed, to which he replies “Display it? Hell, I’m going to drive it.” It gives glimpses of proof that Will doesn’t come from a rich background whilst painting the one percent as distasteful, much like in our world.

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