In Time Parent Guide
Unfortunately Will and Sylvia's approach to narrowing the imbalance between the have and the have nots feels like something right out of a Bonnie and Clyde crime spree.
Parent Movie Review
What resource would you be most willing to pay for if it were up for sale? Time would be at the top of many lists. Like Jim Croce’s song Time in a Bottle, "There never seems to be enough time to do all the things you want to do."
In the futuristic world of the movie In Time, no one ages past twenty-five. How long you live after that depends on your ability to buy more days. Minutes and seconds are the legal tender of society and a green neon numbers on your arm denotes how much or little you have of it.
Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) lives in the ghetto where people rush to get as much done as they can with the moments they have. Accustomed to eking out a day-to-day existence with his mother (Olivia Wilde), Will is given a gift when a stranger (Matt Bomer) at the bar bequeaths all his "cash" to the young man. Not one to be selfish, Will shares some of his funds with his friend Borel (Johnny Galecki). Then he heads up town, to a different time zone, where those with plenty of years and decades on their hands reside. With a burning sense of social justice, this modern day Robin Hood plans to take from the rich and return to the poor. He begins by beating millionaire Philippe Weis (Vincent Kartheiser) in a game of poker.
But there are those whose job it is to keep close tabs on who controls and accumulates time. Barging into Weis’ mansion, Timekeeper Raymond Leon (Cillian Murphy) and his two assistants (Collins Pennie, Toby Hemingway) force the savvy poker player to hand over his winnings. Will, however, kidnaps Philippe’s daughter Sylvia (Amanda Seyfried) and makes a run for freedom with her as his hostage.
Smothered by her father and constantly surrounded by guards employed to protect her and her assets, Sylvia meets people living minute-to-minute. It is a harsh reality for a girl who previously chose not to acknowledge the source of her family’s fabulous wealth.
Initially terrified of being low on funds, Sylvia’s attitude about amassing huge amounts of hours at the expense of someone else changes as she spends more time with Will. Chalk it up to love or the Stockholm syndrome. Armed with guns, she and Will break into her father’s safes and begin reallocating resources to those who are low on time.
Though naked swimmers and a girl removing much of her clothing during a game of strip poker comprise most of the film’s sexual content, violence plays out on screen throughout this film with characters being robbed, beaten and brutally shot. One man commits suicide and others drop dead on the street when their clocks run out.
Much like the backlash against the financial districts in 2011, the film substitutes time for money while it examines the disparity between haves and have nots. Unfortunately Will and Sylvia’s approach to narrowing those imbalances feels like something right out of a Bonnie and Clyde crime spree.
Directed by Andrew Niccol. Starring Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy. Running time: 110 minutes. Theatrical release October 28, 2011. Updated July 17, 2017
In Time
Rating & Content Info
Why is In Time rated PG-13? In Time is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for violence, some sexuality and partial nudity, and brief strong language.
Violence: Characters die in the street when their clocks run out. Characters are threatened and robbed. Numerous characters are shot. Some blood is depicted. A character is kidnapped. Cars crash during a chase. Bribes and stealing are depicted. Thugs roam the streets.
Sexual Content: Brief buttock nudity is seen during a midnight swim in a lake. A couple kisses passionately. A woman removes all but her underwear during a game of strip poker. Female characters wear low-cut clothing.
Language: The script contains a strong sexual expletive along with two-dozen profanities including scatological slang, terms of Deity and swearing.
Alcohol / Drug Use: Men share liquor from a flask. One man put alcohol in his morning coffee. Characters drink in bars and social settings. Characters discuss a man who drinks himself to death.
Page last updated July 17, 2017
In Time Parents' Guide
Can people "buy" more minutes in their day by using time saving items or services? If you could afford any one thing that would save you time what would it be?
What examples are there in the market, on the medical front or in other arenas of the rich taking resources from the less fortunate? Is there any way to enforce social justice in these matters? What would be the consequences of immortality?
Home Video
The most recent home video release of In Time movie is January 31, 2012. Here are some details…
Home Video Rating: In Time
Release Date: 31 January 2012
In Time releases to Blu-ray and DVD with the following bonus extras:
- Deleted/extended scenes
In Time on Blu-ray also includes:
- The Minutes behind-the-scenes featurette
- Access to In Time: The Game app
Related home video titles:
The powers that be keep tight control on the universes that they control in the movies The Island, The Truman Show and The Adjustment Bureau.
A young girls stumbles across one family’s secret for immortality in the screen adaptation of the children’s book Tuck Everlasting.