Movie Review: In Time

In Time, starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried, is a futuristic story of genetically engineered people who only live to the age of 25...unless they can find more time.  You don't physically age past 25, so it's hard to tell how old people are.  You don't live past 25 without hard work and a frugal lifestyle, unless, of course, you're rich.

Time is the commodity, not money.  Time, literally IS money.  One starts life with their clock running.  If you're born rich or make it rich, you have no worries, and can live forever unless you are murdered or have some sort of natural accident.  It's possible to steal time, from those in your own time zone, but if you need to steal it, those in your time zone don't typically have enough.  If you steal from the rich, the time keepers come after you.

If you're not born into "time", you have to count every minute.  Cup of coffee?  8 minutes.  A high-end motel room?  6 months.  A bus ride? two hours.  The time clock at work?  That's actually your paycheck.  "The system" keeps raising the quotas at work so that "pay" is reduced while raising prices.  "The system" would crumble if too many people live.  The game is rigged by the elite.  Not everyone can get ahead.  The system is set up so that only the rich survive.

Amanda Seyfried's character comes from "time", Justin Timberlake lives in the ghetto.  His clock is often running with only a single day left.  After a chance encounter with someone in a bar, his luck shifts.  Or does it?  You just can't get more time without drawing attention.  The star-crossed lovers must make some tough decisions about how they want to spend their time.

I couldn't help but wonder if the release of this movie was deliberately "timed" with the Occupy Wallstreet movement.  There is such a strong theme of "the rich get richer, while the poor get poorer", and the top 1% having all of the control, and the feeling that the system is rigged.  The fact that a system has 1% at the top and 99% at the bottom, and is invested in keeping it that way comes through in this theme.  There is no middle class.  You can also see clearly who shares and who doesn't.  Is the release a coincidence?  I honestly have no idea.  But the theme, which of course has been around a very long "time", is "timely" still.  There is also an evident element of the Robin Hood theme in the film as well.

The acting is stellar.  And Amanda, GIRL-FRIEND, how DID you run in those heels? I was in awe!  Both of your ankles should be broken clean off from that!   I really enjoyed it.  There is a lot to follow, so seeing it twice might help.  It is rated PG-13 because it is a complex and often dark concept that will be way over the heads of younger kids.  There might be one f-bomb dropped.  So while it would be OK to take kids, they'll just be bored and bug you while you're trying to follow the plot.

And in this film, you finally understand the term "I'll clean your clock!" :-)