Picture it: the future. When? We don't know, but we're presumably on earth although there are no real signs of where or when the story takes place. We do know two things: First, there are no cell phones (yeah...I know, right--what's up with that?!?); and, second, no one ages past 25. At a certain point, your clock starts and when all numbers hit '0', you're done. Dead. Further, time is currency. There are no dollars or financing. You need a drink after work, that'll be five minutes. Need a new car? That'll be a cool decade. People are paid in time, all of which is logged digitally on your arm. With that in mind, the class system is glaringly obvious. You've got bad zones where people live with just enough time on their arm to get through the day; and, you've got areas where people have centuries in the bank.
Meet Will Salas (Justin Timberlake). He's one of the have-not's living day-to-day, as is his mom. However, through a fortunate happenstance, Will is given centuries by a guy who's got tons of time, but is just plain tired of living. Will is set. Of course, in a bad zone, this is deadly as your time can be taken from you easily and violently. Therefore, Will moves to a better area where he meets Sylvia (Amanda Seyfried) and her family, including her father (Vincent Kartheiser). They've got centuries built up. Enter the cops, or TimeKeepers. They're suspicious of Will, who they suspect has killed the individual who has given him all his time. Yadayadayada Will and Sylvia play combination Bonnie and Clyde/Robin Hood as they strive to balance the social pendulum.
It's good. I'll go with 4.0 Stars hands down. It's thought-provoking for certain. If ever there was a movie making a political statement--hitting you squarely in the jaw with a message before you know what hit you, it's In Time. This flick will have the folks protesting on Wall Street foaming at the mouth. After all, the world is controlled by an elite few. Actually, life and death are controlled by an elite crowd. To ensure that balance is maintained, the elite set the prices--and prices change all the time. A bus ride that costs an hour this morning, could cost two in the afternoon. That's tough for someone living day-to-day...hour-to-hour.
The world created by Director and Writer, Andrew Niccol was fascinating, indeed. In his futuristic landscape, you see the glaring class structure and a world clearly divided. You see certain technologies--electric cars, for example, are the norm. You see the glaring absence of other technology--cell phones, for instance, are no more. Was this obvious tech-boom of our time intentionally left out to help make the story more dramatic? After all, someone facing extinction with a mere few ticks left, could easily get an extension through a technology that would help them power up from a cell device. Maybe it was left out as a control measure. Perhaps the elite powers have eliminated such possibilities for control purposes. I don't know, but the entire concept is interesting, though provoking and makes for great conversation.
Performances were solid throughout. Justin continues his solid run. Amanda Seyfried might finally get her due--she's been solid in some lesser publicized flicks in the past and never really got the attention she deserves. Plus, it was good to see Vincent Kartheiser again. Yeah, I know he's done the Mad Men (nope, I've never seen it) thing for awhile, but it's good that he's hit the big screen once again. Should you? Hit the big screen for this one, I mean? Well, in a word: YES! It surprised me very pleasantly. Expect a mixture of Logan's Run and Robin Hood with interesting storylines, good acting and a flick worth a trip to the big screen.
True...OUT!
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