In Time

      Another wonderful glimpse into the very interesting mind of writer/director Andrew Niccol (Lord of War, S1m0ne, Gattaca). There are so few original scripts out there.  Everything is a remake, a book, a sequel etc. etc.  It is so nice when someone writes a script just for a movie.  Don't get me wrong, if you have read my past posts you know I love all of these, and don't have much of a preference when it comes to movies.  I am just saying it is refreshing when it's an original script. I also really like it when the writer is the director.  You really get to see his entire vision.  He not only wrote it, but then gets to bring it to life just how he imagined it.
 
      Gattaca (1997) was an intriguing look at genetic manipulation. What if man kind could genetically choose the perfect child? I mean, from conception you can choose eye color, hair color, sex, IQ even? It was a very interesting movie.  In Time (2011) is another sci-fi, futuristic what if movie. People have evolved to the point that they have stopped aging at 25, "but are engineered to live only one more year".  At the age of 25 your "clock" kicks on. The clock is a series of glowing, green numbers on your forearm. There is no more money exchanged, everything is dealt with by means of time.  You are given one year when the clock first starts, after that you work to earn more time, you pay for everything with time.  This translates to millionaires being immortal and on the opposite side, living pay check to check literally is living day to day. 
 
      Justin Timberlake (Love Actually, Get Smart, Bad Boys II) plays Will Salas. He is one of those young men living day to day.  He goes to work and gets paid that day, his payment is 18 hours. That's it! He and his mom are always down to minutes.  I should explain that when your time runs out, the clock shows nothing but zeros, your last seconds are gone, you just drop dead.

      I will never think of time the same after watching this movie.  All of the little sayings we have, "clean your clock", "I don't have the time", "just give me a minute" will always make me stop and think now.  Sadly time management is such a huge part of our lives, we are bombarded constantly.  Everyone "needing some of our time".  Some of us feeling like we have more than enough to share but don't really want to, some of us feeling like we can't spare any and those who have the time to share and do.  These are the thoughts that ran through my head while watching Salas battle with this exact thing in a very literal way. 

      I was surprised by all of the familiar faces in this movie, it was kind of fun.  Cillian Murphy (Inception, The Dark Knight, 28 Days Later ....., Girl with a Peal Earring) completely freaks me out after playing such a believable Scarecrow. However, the more roles I see him in I can't help but like him and I really liked his Neo look as Raymond Leon, the Timekeeper.  Johnny Galecki (Hancock, Roseanne, Big Bang Theory) is Will's best friend, Borel. The biggest surprise was seeing Connor. That would be Vincent Kartheiser (Mad Men, Alpha Dog, Rango, Angel). Joss Whedon fans will know him as Angel's son, Connor.

      Anyway, I really enjoyed this movie. Fascinating story line, good sci-fi flick, and I almost forgot I was watching Justin Timberlake.  (wink, wink, just kidding)