In Time might have been a brainy sci-fi thriller if someone in the studio’s budget department had thought to spend a little bit of time consulting an economist. But alas, they didn’t.
In a world where people stop physically aging at 25, time is literally money. Everyone is born with glowing green numbers on their skin announcing how much longer they have to live. A cup of coffee is worth three minutes off the end of your life. A thirty minute bus ride docks two hours from your lifespan. A luxury car is several decades. The rich are essentially immortal, while the poor have trouble staying alive from day to day.
And so, somewhere in a ghetto in this world is an orphan named Will Salas, who looks uncannily like Justin Timberlake and finds himself with more time on his clock than he knows what to do with when a rich man commits suicide. Salas is the last person to speak to the dead man, so the authorities pursue him, led by Cillian Murphy in a trench coat. And then the plot somehow works in passionate romantic entanglements with Sylvia Weis, daughter of the richest man alive.
Of course she gets dragged along on Salas’ run from the law, they discover an economic conspiracy, and decide that they must do their part in redistributing the wealth. Interesting how this movie was released during the Occupy Wall Street protests, eh?
Clearly the plot is not the best thing this movie has to offer. What about the premise? Time is money. If you run out of time, you’re dead. In fact it’s such an awesome premise that every single minute of this movie is deluged with time-related puns. “Can I have a moment of your time?” “Don’t waste my time.” And so on. I understand that in a world where time is the currency, the inhabitants might actually speak that way, but it’s irritating all the same.
Vernacular aside, the premise itself is well-executed for the first half of the movie. After that, an economist or just a little bit of common sense would have come in handy. If a coffee costs three minutes, why does a bus ride cost two hours and a luxury car about half a century? Furthermore, someone in the writing staff seems to think that dumping millions into an economy would only be beneficial. Everyone would live longer, yeah, but think about the inflation! Too bad characters in the film perceive inflation as part of the grand conspiracy rather than a natural economic process. Anyways, the premise isn’t the best part of the movie because it turns around and falls on its own sword halfway through. That was pretty disappointing.
Let’s consider the acting next. Justin Timberlake was pretty good as Sean Parker in The Social Network. Here, I learned that he cries like a dying clown. It’s not really his fault. The script doesn’t give anyone much to work with. Salas’ daddy issues are never explored. Cillian Murphy’s character hints at a poor upbringing, but that never comes into full light. And all I know about Sylvia Weis is that she knows how to run in six-inch heels and has gratuitous love scenes with Will Salas.
Speaking of the heels, that brings us to the best part about In Time: the wardrobe department. Seriously. Thanks to the premise, everyone is beautiful and perpetually twenty-five years old. And they look great in formal wear, especially when it includes running in those six inch heels.
But in the off chance that you’re not into watching Justin Timberlake in a suit run from Cillian Murphy in a leather duster, I hope your willingness to suspend disbelief extends to basic economic principles. If you can bring yourself to turn off that part of your brain for two hours, then In Time becomes a decent thriller built off one of the best premises I have ever seen.
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