FYI this is another post from last week just never posted so read it in context.
The Bonnie and Clyde/Robin Hoods of time itself.
I watched In Time last night and while I'm sitting here trying to figure out if my little girl is trying to show up two weeks early I thought I’d go ahead and write about it since I have some times.
In Time is a movie written and directed by Andrew Niccol who has done other movies such as Lord of War and Gattaca and will be the screenplay writer and director of Stephenie Meyer's The Host adaptation. It's set in a futuristic world where everyone is made to die at 26. A weird arm clock starts ticking on the exact moment of your 25 and you have only a year left, unless you get more time. In this world time is everything, and there are also different time zones that separate the rich with millions of years from the poor who live day by day.
The film picks up with the fiftieth birthday of the Justin Timberlake's character, Will Salas, mothers birthday. As they both leave off to work Will eventually goes to the bar with his best friend and they run into a man who has a thousand years on his watch. When he gets attacked by Minuet Men, men who are the gangsters of time in which they still all or some of everyone's time.
Will steps into help him and they get away hiding in an abandon warehouse. The two talk and the man, Henry Hamilton, played by Matt Bomer (White Collar) tells Will the politics behind everyone's time and that for a few to be immortal many must die. Henry asks Will what he would do with the time if he had it and his answer was, "I don't know, but i sure wouldn't waste it."
The next morning Henry give Will everything but the last five minutes of his life and he heads to a nearby bridge where waits out the last five but not before leaving a note for Will that says, "Don’t waste my time." Will tries to get to Henry before he dies but is too late. He leaves the scene but not before getting caught on surveillance.
Later that day, he gives ten years to his best friend for each year they had known one another and plans on giving a few years to his mother but she ends up not being able to take the bus home from work because she doesn't have enough time. She starts running hoping to make it to her son who realizes once she doesn't get off the bus what must have happened and starts running himself. The clock is ticking for his mom who is about to run out of time; they see each other off in the distance and run out to each other with one arm each in the air so they can exchange time. But his mother times out at the last second and flies into his arms. Will holds his dead mother in his arms and cries but as he does he makes up his mind what he's going to do next, he's going to take down the rich for everything they got.
Sadly this is only the beginning of the story. Yeah I know right, but there is so much more to tell. When he gets to New Greenwhich he instantly begins to show his true colors which a waitress points out when he goes to get something to eat. She tells him he does everything fast and the fact that he told her to take a week for herself. He eventually goes to a casino to play some poker and ends up at a table with Philippe Weis, played by Vincent Kartheiser—Connor from Angel—who is a millionaire in the time loaning business. The two get into a little conversation and the bet gets so high to the point Will bets all of his life but the last twenty something seconds. He wins the bet gaining 1,100 years in the process. Weis’ daughter Sylvia portrayed by Amanda Seyfried—Red Riding Hood, Dear John, Mama Mia! (2008 Film)—invites Will to a party they are having later on that night at their mansion and he accepts.
At the party Sylvia and Will sneak off to skinny dip in the ocean showing the first spark the two have for one another but eventually they go back to the party. Once they are back at the party the police, or time keepers as they are called, show up to talk to Will having seen his face on the security camera near the bridge where Henry fell off. The camera rotates constantly so instead of showing that Henry committed suicide it only shows Will’s face. The main time keeper, Raymond Leon played by Cillian Murphy—Batman Begins, Inception, 28 Days Later—has all of Will’s time confiscated believing he is a murderer instead of a guy who got lucky and helped the right man. Desperate Will kidnaps Sylvia and drives all the way back to his home in the ghetto. Upon arrival they get their car tire spiked and flip over off the road. Unconscious the Minutemen show up and their leader, Fortis played by male model turned actor, Alex Pettyfer—Beastly, I Am Number Four—takes almost all of Sylvia’s time but they are interrupted by the sound of sirens. When they wake up, distressed Sylvia starts to freak out and Will gives her some of his time so they can keep moving.
They go to the house of Will’s friend Borel who is played by The Big Bang Theory’s Johnny Galecki only to find his wife brokenhearted and crying because he had drank himself to death…with nine years still on his clock. In a rush they get Sylvia to pawn off her diamond earrings for two days and split it between the two of them. As Sylvia gets a little taste of reality Will asks for the ransom of 1000 years for Sylvia back, but not to him, but for the ghetto. When he doesn’t pay up the next day Will tells Sylvia she can go home. So she calls her father and instantly is upset about what happened. While she scolds him Leon walks up ready to shoot Will but Sylvia sees it at the last second and with the gun that he gave her shoots Leon. Leon, who is always low on time, gets a little extra help from Will and the two run off now both fugitives and will soon have a ten year bounty on their heads. Stealing Leon’s car they ask each other what they’re going to do since Sylvia doesn’t want to go back home. Together they begin a series of Time Bank robberies and start to give to the poor while still being chased by the authorities. Eventually, they get caught by the Minuetmen and Fortis challenges Will to a Time Fight and Will beats him using the technique his father would use to win, while winning he shoots the rest the Minuetmen and takes all of Fortis time and the couple leaver their bodies out on the street.
Later that same night they realize that their efforts have been worth nothing; that the rich will continue to raise the prices of living in the ghetto to keep things alright. So that’s when Sylvia comes up with the plan to still a million years from her father’s private vault. They succeeded and give the rest to the ghetto where Will is from. Leon chases them as they run to the next town and when he finally catches up to them they are about to give in when Will asks to borrow some time so they don’t die on the way to prison. That’s when Leon realizes he didn’t give himself more time and dies in front of them. With only about a minute left each Sylvia and Will try to figure out what they can do to get more time and eventually they see Leon’s car off in the distance knowing they can get time from that. Will reaches the car first and gets the time and runs out to Sylvia just grabbing hands with her with just enough time to spare.
The movie ends with time being distributed widely and the Time Keepers walking away from their jobs because it’s basically over. There is now a 100 year bounty on the heads of Sylvia and Will as they pull up to a rather large bank about to rob it for more time.
In Time was a very creative movie that used everyone’s fad to be immortal and showing that even if we had found a way to live forever people would still be dying. It focuses on the social issues of the rich having the power to do whatever they want and how a small few can make all the differences in the world. It was beautifully written and while it was slow it was slow for good reasons to help build the story. If time was everything in the world, and in a way it is, we would do basically anything to have as much of it as we could. Movies that make you think are tricky, you have to write them right or else it could fail. With In Time not only did it have a greatly written script but it also had a lot of big actors as well. I liked it and if you haven’t seen it I encourage you to.
Anyways, until next time, According to Michael III, if I had that much time, I know I wouldn’t waste it, but who wants to live forever on this world anyways? I don’t know about you, but I’m waiting for glory!
—Michael III
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