What a great album cover…
The concept of In Time lends itself to all kinds of kinda clever wordplay. You see in this version of the future humanity has evolved to the point where standard ill health doesn’t exist, the only way you can die is from accidental or through an act of violence.
But once you turn 25 years of age each person is credited with one year that instantly starts counting down to zero, at which time the person expires. From this point you don’t age, but you can get older through literally buying time or swapping/stealing/winning it from others. Women no longer need to lie about their age! In this world you can live as long as you can afford and still get carded at bars.
Time is short. Time is precious. Time is money.
Time is shown in a green luminous band on everyone’s forearm.
This concept evokes memories of Wimpy telling one and all that he ‘will give you Tuesday for a hamburger’, though perhaps he shops at the top end of town. Here a sandwich will cost you a few minutes, a luxury car years and a lady of the night might offer ‘ten minutes for an hour’.
I wonder if two minute noodles are true to label?
In the ghettos the population might look like as pretty and well groomed as a Mouseketeer open audition – no grey hairs or bald spots here – but times are tough. Working gets some credits in the ticker, but as they wind down and mundane expenses reduce one’s life expectancy instantaneously the concept of ‘living day to day’ becomes quite real.
In these areas a good sleep-in can be perilous, clock-watching is a killer, and the cost of living – or more appropriately not dying – is ever increasing.
Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) is one of the poor and impoverished, rushing urgently about trying to save a minute or two. His mother Rachel (Olivia Wilde) is fifty. Olivia Wilde! This immediately raises all sorts of ethical issues with Icarus type implications, but moving on…
After Will saves a man from time burglary – surprisingly not from preventing him from watching reality TV – he finds himself the new owner of over a century of personal time credits. This new found wealth allows Will to afford entry to the more upper class areas where things are far more leisurely.
After a short gambling session which leaves Will with about 25 normal life expectancies in his back pocket he meets Sylvia (Amanda Seyfried), the daughter of a time rich businessman. But with the ‘timekeepers’ on his trail Will finds that the promise unlimited minutes usually comes with an asterisk for good reason.
I loathe the Justin Timberlake regardless of the field of endeavour in which he is presently being overrated, and he does precious little to change my opinion here. Amanda Seyfried shows little more than the ability to have big eyes and to dodder in high heels, and Cillian Murphy looks forlorn as one of the Timekeepers.
In Time is a concept in search of a plot, and without any decent plot developments comes across as a pale replica of Total Recall, only with minutes in the place of clean air.
But that’s where the similarities end.
Final Rating – 6 / 10. Is In Time’s 110 minutes worth your $5? Not unless you’re on Team Timberlake.
