“In Time” Isn’t a Waste of Time

Imagine a world where you stop aging at twenty-five, a literal biological clock counts down your final year, then you die when the clock counts to zero—unless you earn more time and time is the currency. Such is the world in which Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) lives day to day, working to add minutes; days to his clock in order to prolong his life. So far, he has managed to live three more years, but in a world where everything is paid for out of the time you have, only the rich can afford to have enough time and live for millennia. For the poor, each day could be their last. While the poor have time to lose and must live minute to minute, day by day and often run; the rich have more than enough time to spare and take life for granted, they have no need to run.

Life takes a turn for the unexpected for Will when he rescues a man with a century on his clock from being robbed. He learns that the man has already lived for more than a hundred years and has become tired of living at the expense of others. The man explains that “For a few to live forever, many must die.” He continues, saying that the rich control the time and regulate how much time everything costs. In short, those with the all the time in the world ensure that the poor will run out and the rich gain more. Will awakens the following morning to find that the man timed out his own clock, giving his century to Will leaving the simple message: “Don’t waste my time.”

After his encounter with the man and an unforeseeable tragedy, Will Silas decides to turn the tides on the rich who he believes have created a world of injustice. Using his newly gained wealth, he enters the time zone where the chronologically abundant reside. He is invited to a party after winning a high stakes poker game and meets Sylvia Weiz—played by Amanda Seyfried—the daughter of mogul Phillip Weiz. Will and Sylvia join together and become a kind of Bonnie and Clyde meets Robin Hood duo, attempting to fix the world’s broken society. All the while they are closely pursued by Raymond Leon ( Cillian Murphy) a time keeper—a type of cop —who is determined to keep them from committing the crime more dangerous than taking time away—that of giving it away.

After seeing the film it is evident that the message In Time seeks to convey is not that the rich get richer while the poor get poorer, but that time is precious to all of us regardless of our station in life. Depicting a world in which our time on earth is so absolute that it becomes the most valuable resource, brings to light the deepest of all mankind’s desires; to have eternal life and live forever, reminding us that our time is not to be horded or squandered, but given freely so that we might live forever in the hearts and memories of those we leave behind.

This film is certainly not a waste of time and is worth seeing if only for the interesting premise. The characters are believable and the plot is solid. Others appearing in the film are Olivia Wilde, Johnny Galecki, and Alex Pettyfer. So, take the time to see if Will and Sylvia succeed in their effort to change the world.