DVD Review: ‘In Time’ Wastes Timely Premise With Unsatisfying Script

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CHICAGO – During last year’s groundswell of Occupy protests, several films and television shows attempted to exploit the class divide for the purposes of entertainment. Only ABC’s irresistible soaper, “Revenge,” fared equally well with critics and audiences, who embraced it as a guiltily pleasurable fantasy in which the rich are brought to justice. Too bad that premise is so rarely a reality.

Two underperforming Hollywood blockbusters attempted to contrive similar escapist larks with diminishing returns. The phony outrage in Brett Ratner’s “Tower Heist” was merely an excuse for a lot of big name stars to go through the motions of a cornball caper that failed to utilize an ounce of their potential. Though Andrew Niccol’s thriller “In Time” is far more ambitious and potently topical, it’s every bit as much of a missed opportunity.

DVD Rating: 2.5/5.0

Like Philip K. Dick and Rod Serling, Niccol specializes in crafting sci-fi parables that would be an ideal fit for the short-story format. Critics have blasted him for merely beating high concepts into the ground, but that is certainly not true of his first two feature screenplays, “Gattaca” and “The Truman Show.” In both cases, Niccol explored the role of technology in modern society and its unsettling tendency to commoditize mankind. In many ways, the premise of “In Time” is a clever variation on “Gattaca,” which also was set in a futuristic time period where genetic engineering had split the world into segregated communities of haves and have-nots. Whereas “Gattaca” followed a protagonist who assumed the identity of a genetically superior individual, “In Time” centers on a poor twentysomething, Will (played by Justin Timberlake), with an elite identity forced upon him by a man he had tried to save. What really distinguishes the society of “In Time” is its mode of currency. Once citizens turn 25, they cease to physically age, while a “clock” appears on their arms that looks disturbingly like the serial numbers branded on concentration camp prisoners. It represents the amount of time one has left to earn more time, forcing lowly citizens like Will to literally live one day at a time. This set-up is loaded with immensely stimulating ideas, but after its promising first act, the film quickly devolves into a problematic B-movie based on A-grade concepts.

In Time was released on Blu-ray and DVD on Jan. 31, 2012.
Photo credit: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

After Will rescues a suicidal rich man, he awakens to find himself armed with a century-worth of time, and discovers that the man had switched clocks before plummeting to his death. Sinister “timekeeper” Raymond (Cillian Murphy) suspects foul play and sets out to hunt down Will. Yet the most provocative scene occurs before the action takes off, as Will is informed by the rich man that there is, in fact, more than enough time on the planet for everyone, if only the wealthy minority would cease to sit on it. Instead, the cost of living rises in order to ensure that the poor continues to die. This motivates Will to “take the rich for all they’ve got,” while abducting the jaded daughter (Amanda Seyfried) of a near-immortal fat cat (well-played by Vincent Kartheiser of “Mad Men”). The amber tones in Roger Deakins’s cinematography are particularly striking in scenes featuring the uniformly photogenic upper-crust, who truly appear to be made of money. Yet it isn’t long before the film’s series of standard formulaic payoffs runs out of steam. Every attempt at humor feels forced, and the final act peters out into a series of repetitions. This is the wrong movie at the right time.

“In Time” is presented in its 2.35:1 aspect ratio, accompanied by English, Spanish, French and English Descriptive audio tracks, and includes no extras aside from eight instantly forgettable deleted scenes. A commentary or extended featurette would’ve allowed a perfect opportunity for Niccol to discuss the intricate design of his heightened universe and its metaphorical implications. Instead, we’re merely offered more awkward sequences of groan-inducing quips, such as when an excess of hotel staff causes Timberlake to observe, “That’s a lot of staff.” The star appears so detached here that it’s sometimes easy to mistake the picture for a slick music video, especially during a cut sequence where the star must blend in to a crowd of dancers. There’s also a strip poker game where I kept waiting for Timberlake to break out into, “I’m Gonna Get You Naked By the End of This Scene.” All the while, a fatigued Murphy continues to run and snarl, snarl and run, while not looking a day over 35.

By MATT FAGERHOLM Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com matt@hollywoodchicago.com