In Time (3½ Stars)

This film took me a long time to get into. For the first 45 minutes I was sitting shaking my head at how silly the premise was. Finally I began to get it. I still think that the premise is ridiculous, even by science fiction standards, but it's a good vehicle to put across valid social arguments.

"In Time" was made in 2011 and takes place more than 200 years in the future, but society has a retro look. There are no mobile phones. There's no Internet. Looking at the film without being told when it's supposed to take place I would have guessed the late 1980's or early 1990's. It's not an alternate universe. This is supposed to be our own world, but society has been dumbed down, along with the vast majority of the people in it.

We don't know the exact date, but we know when the change happened. 188 years previously scientists discovered a cure for ageing, which together with other medical advances meant that nobody needed to die of natural causes. Everyone on Earth became potentially immortal. After the initial euphoria the sad truth sank in that this wasn't a blessing, it was a curse. The world's population would exceed the planet's capacity to house it. Emergency meetings were held to decide who deserved to live and who deserved to die. The scientists devised an ingenious method to limit people's life. First of all, everyone would be allowed to live 25 years. That's supposedly the age at which people stop ageing. After that a person is given a clock determining how long he has left to live, initially set to one year. He can earn more time by working. Time is the legal currency, so everything a person buys is deducted from his account. For instance, a phone call costs one minute, a bus journey costs two hours, and a good car costs 59 years. Time can be given to someone else by holding arms. It can also be stored in boxes called time capsules, to be sent to people in other places. When the time in a person's account runs out his heart stops beating and he dies.

You see what I mean about the ridiculous premise? Try to accept it, then you can enjoy the film better. Don't bother yourself with questions like "How does that work?" As far as the technology goes many questions are left unanswered. The film tells us all we need to know.

As any economist knows, if a new currency is introduced the circulation has to be controlled. That's relatively easy when the money is made of paper; banknotes just have to be printed. In the film's Brave New World time vaults have been set up with enough time for everyone, based on assumptions about how many people the planet Earth can sustain. This vault is used to pay everyone their initial one year. Effectively it's a loan, not a payment, because the clock is ticking every second of the day, and if the clock runs down to zero the currency is reclaimed by the banks.

Now for the social consequences. This system of allocated lifespans almost seems fair, as long as everyone has equal opportunities. However, we see that America (and presumably the rest of the world) has been divided into zones. Travel from one zone to another is permissible, but it's so expensive that only the rich can afford it. The toll for crossing a zone border can be up to two years, and a person on a long trip might need to cross a lot of borders. This means that most people stay where they're born, rather than shorten their lifespan to reach a better place.

The film is a love story between two people from different zones. Will Salas comes from Dayton, Sylvia Weis comes from New Greenwich. The people in Dayton have an average remaining lifespan of less than 24 hours, while the people in New Greenwich have an average remaining lifespan of 347 years. There isn't much hope for improvement in Dayton. Will works long hours in a factory. Eight hours work earns him an extra day, so he needs to work overtime if he wants to buy food. He's caught in a vicious circle of virtual slavery. He works to earn time, but his time is needed to work, and very little is left over for "luxuries" like a drink in the bar.

Sylvia is the daughter of the man who owns the largest bank in New Greenwich. She has over 1000 years left, and her father is a millionaire. There's no reason why he should ever die, and he wants to extend the same privilege to the rest of his family. He doesn't care if the people in Dayton fall dead on the streets every day when their time runs out. It's fair, in his eyes. Everyone is born with equal opportunities, he claims, so if they die it's their own fault. This is a lie that rich people always tell themselves. Will was born to a poor single mother who had nothing to give him when he turned 25. Sylvia's father gave her hundreds of years.

I shan't tell you anything about the plot itself. The film's background, as described here, should tell you all you need to know. Incidentally, the Blu-ray has an extra feature called "The Minutes", a 16-minute pseudo-documentary about the future world. The actors are interviewed in-character about their opinions of the world they live in. I strongly recommend that you watch this feature immediately after the film. I found this feature better than the film itself.

Justin Timberlake plays the lead role. I've only seen him in a few minor roles before now. This is his first leading role, and I have to say that I'm impressed. I hate his singing, but he's great as an actor. He should stick to this new career.

I was surprised to find out that the film was a huge box office success. I never heard of it at the time, and it doesn't seem like the sort of film that would appeal to sci-fi fans (too silly) or superficial popcorn munchers (too cerebral). Maybe people just went to see it because of Justin Timberlake?

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