Time is Money

Rating: 7/10 (8 November 2011)

Its the year 2161 and genetic alteration has allowed humans to stop aging after their 25th birthday thereby making it possible for them to live forever. But due to concerns of overpopulation, the system is tweaked so that money is replaced by 'living time' as the standard currency and people must acquire more time through labor and commercial means after turning 25 years of age, or die within a year. Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) is a 28-year-old man who lives with his 50-year old mother, Rachel (Olivia Wilde) in the ghettos and works in the factory. He encounters a 105-year-old Henry Hamilton (Matt Bomer), who has more than a century on his clock and is attacked by Fortis (Alex Pettyfer), the 75-year old mobster boss of a gang called the 'Minutemen', who are infamous for stealing other people's time by force. Will helps Hamilton escape the confrontation. Hamilton tells Will that there's enough time for everyone, but it is being stockpiled for the rich to use in becoming immortal. An upset Henry describes how he is tired of being alive. He commits suicide, but not before transferring all his time to Will. Raylond Leon (Cillian Murphy) and his Timekeepers investigate the death and believe Will killed Henry for his time. So now Will is on the run from the law. After the tragic and unjust death of his mother later that night, Will promises to bring down the system and exact revenge. He forages into the upper class New Greenwich and along his travails, he meets the beautiful 27-year-old Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried) who is the daughter of the 90-year old millionaire, time-loaning businessman Phillipe Weis (Vincent Kartheiser). Will kidnaps Sylvia while escaping the Timekeepers.
If not for the extremely powerful performance by Cillian Murphy, this movie would have been less than mediocre. He brings a level of complexity and intensity which is much needed to the movie. A few scenes on his back story wouldn't have hurt. Alex shines in his role as the bad guy. This is the first time that I thought Timberlake was actually an able lead actor who could carry a movie all by himself. Seyfried was amazing as well. She was perfect in her transformation from a doe-eyed, young, bored rich girl to a fighter who is rebelling against the system and more so, against her father who suffocates her life. The movie isn't too subtle about raising the issue of the huge divide between the rich and the poor or the human bodies which lay about the ghettos in broad daylight while the people never seem to be interested in them and move on like its normal, as in our society. But it never came across as heavy handed. The movie could have done away with some of the cheesier dialogues and scenes though. The opening scene where we find out that Olivia Wilde's Rachel is actually the mother of Will amazed me. Her death was heartbreaking and Olivia played her role wonderfully. It was a bit disconcerting to see everyone being so young in a movie and yet playing the parts of mothers, fathers and family. Also the use of guest stars was done really well. Johnny Galecki had a forgettable outing, but Bomer really impressed in his short screen presence.
Andrew Niccol who has brought us really good movies such as Lord of War and Gattaca has let go of some of the intellect he had there. "In Time" is a slick action movie which is quite ingenious and has a terrific concept. Its like a Robin Hood movie, where time is the money. But it is almost undone by some of its fatal flaws in screenplay and writing. The lack of security in time banks and video cameras on the streets, Will infiltrating the security of Phillipe, the apparent lack of Timekeepers who are the law enforcers and many other improbable, jarring flaws. But it does make us look at life from a different perspective and raise interesting questions. Its not as good as it should have been given the rich narrative. Despite that it is entertaining and I enjoyed the movie. The way i see it, people will be highly opinionated about it. But in the end, I think it is worth a watch and definitely not a waste of your time.
7/10