Producers: Andrew Niccol, Marc Abraham, Amy Israel
Kristel Laiblin, Eric Newman
Writer: Andrew Niccol
Actors: Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy
Olivia Wilde, Alex Pettyfer, Vincent Kartheiser, Matt Bomer
Cinematographer: Roger Deakins
Music: Craig Armstrong
Rated: PG-13
Running time: 109 minutes
L.A.’s Bridges of Time
What if we lived in a dystopian world where time was money--- literally; a world where people lived free of charge to the age of twenty-five never getting any older; but upon reaching that age had to earn--- however possible, every year, day, hour, and minute of the rest of their lives?
Immortality was possible in this world, but it had to be acquired and held on to. The unscrupulous, corrupt, rich could live forever; whereas the rest of society (the poor) had to work hard, scrimp, bargain, and steal to survive and not “time out” (die). This is the world Andrew Niccol presents us in his tech-noir thriller In Time. The theme is similar to that of his 1997 science fiction hit Gattaca: human inequality owing to circumstances of birth and status. In Gattaca it’s genetic engineering, here it’s longevity.
Each person in this time-based world has a digital clock with one free year on it genetically implanted at birth in his or her arm that starts ticking off time when the person reaches twenty-five. This clock is what is used to pay for one’s needs and debts; value is conceived in seconds, minutes, days, and years. One is paid in time. The more prices for things rise, the more time it costs--- and prices continually rise, causing the poor to die off rather young, or if they can survive, be perpetually poor.
Will Salas (Justin Timberlake), the film’s protagonist, is a twenty-eight year old factory worker living in Dayton, a poor manufacturing district, or “time zone”, where life is rough and short. One evening in a neighborhood dive bar he encounters Henry Hamilton (Matt Bomer), a one hundred and five year old millionaire, who is tired of living and is recklessly throwing his money/years away. Will saves Henry from local murderous gang members (called “minutemen”), and Henry in turn tells Will about how the rich minority maintain their long-lived dominance by rigging it so that prices continually rise causing the poor and disadvantaged majority to rapidly die off. This leaves most time in the hands of the few to the detriment of the many.
While hiding from the gang Hamilton secretly gives Will all but five minutes of his accumulated hundred plus years, and then times out on a bridge above the river channel. When Will goes to look for Henry on the bridge he’s caught on a surveillance camera and the police (called “time keepers”) suspect him of killing the millionaire for his time.
Things get worse for Will that night when he goes to meet with his fifty year old mother (Olivia Wilde) to tell her about, and share with her his good fortune; but she tragically times out, dying in his arms. Will, now knowing the closely-held secret that the rich use to control time and keep living high on the hog, and unexpectedly possessing over a hundred years to spend, decides to head to New Greenwich, the affluent time zone several bridges distant from Dayton, and wreak revenge on the rich.
Without going too far into the plot, let me say that Will does what he intended with the help of Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried), the bored and protected daughter of Philippe Weis (Vincent Kartheiser), a millionaire time-loaning businessman. He meets her at a casino while playing for high time stakes with her father. Later at a party at the Weis’s villa, after the time keepers led by Raymond Leon (Cillian Murphy) arrive and try to arrest Will, he escapes them taking Sylvia as a hostage.The rest of the movie involves Will and Sylvia, who soon becomes sympathetic to Will’s plan, being chased by Leon from New Greenwich back to Dayton. Will and Sylvia in the course of the film become time bandits robbing (a la Bonnie and Clyde) Weis’s time banks.
In Time is fast-paced and thought provoking from beginning to end. The “time is money” theme has been used before (The Price of Life 1987), but not so effectively as it is presented here. The use of an all under thirty year old cast is different and surprisingly believable.
I chose this film, however, not for the story, the acting, or the production quality, all of which are quite good; but for its locations. In Time uses L.A. locations that are for the most part off the beaten track: Boyle Heights and the downtown Arts District for derelict Dayton; and Century City and Malibu for affluent New Greenwich. Most noteworthy is the prominence of Los Angeles’s iconic bridges--- especially the Sixth Street Bridge (now being replaced by a newer version (sad!). In the story the bridges serve as connectors between the different time zones (actually segregated economic zones), with Dayton at the low end and New Greenwich at the top.
Besides the L.A. bridges Andrew Niccol also makes good use of the L.A. River channel itself for car chases and Henry Hamilton’s death plunge. Film buffs will remember these sites from classic movies like Them (1954) and Point Blank (1967). It’s good to see them again so extensively used. The cars used throughout the movie are all older models (Chevrolets, Dodges, Lincolns etc.) and help to enhance the future-retro feel and look of the film.The Boyle Heights area with its decayed and derelict buildings just east of the river makes for a perfect Dayton, a place of hopelessness and random violence. The vast forlorn Central Market area off Seventh Street is also effectively used, along with the famous rundown King Edward Hotel on Los Angeles Street downtown. The steel and glass of Century City and the lusciousness of Malibu contrast starkly with the rather squalid locations east of the river.
Another interesting point about this movie (if you have not already noticed) is that most of the proper names used refer to clock makers, watch companies and other names associated with time (Salas, Weis, Dayton and Greenwich etc.). Niccol used this same clever conceit in Gattaca where all the names had astronomic associations.
