By Stephanie Holland / Senior Staff Assistant
Borrowed time (20th Century Fox)
By Stephanie Holland / Senior Staff Assistant
The rich control everything. They live in the best houses and have the most important jobs while the poor stay in ghettos where the price of living makes them live day-to-day.
Though this may sound like a story from the nightly news, it is actually the plot to the new Justin Timberlake action movie “In Time.”
In the year 2149, time is the new currency. The population stops aging at the age of 25, then is granted a year on a continuously running clock that appears on their arms.
The rich are able to gather enough years to stay immortal, while the poor live for days or sometimes hours.
Timberlake is Will Salas, a poor factory worker who never has more than a day or two on his clock.
When he is given the gift of 100 years, he uses it to bring down the lopsided system.
“In Time” is a beautifully made, fascinating story of class systems and scientific advancement.
Timberlake excels as the hero and makes Will an instantly likeable character.
As he progresses from blue collar factory worker to rebel criminal, Timberlake never loses sight of who Will is, keeping him grounded every step of the way.
Young actress Amanda Seyfried is Will’s partner in crime Sylvia. As the daughter of the richest man in town, Sylvia strains against her father’s controlling nature and understands Will’s desire to be more than the sum of her clock.
The pair has easy chemistry that makes their characters instantaneous connection believable.
The all-star cast includes Vincent Kartheiser, Matt Bomer, and Cillian Murphy.
Director Andrew Niccol (“Gattaca”) is known for telling ground-breaking stories and doesn’t disappoint here.
The timely nature of a story about class differences doesn’t go unnoticed. As a matter of fact, it makes the film that much more compelling.
With a talented young cast starring and a fascinating storyteller at the helm, “In Time” is certainly the most interesting film of the year and just may be the most underrated as well.
