Playing out as an uncanny metaphor to the anti-Wall Street movement, In Time paints a future in which corporate greed trades longevity for currency. A scruffy Justin Timberlake plays Will Salas, a man born in the wrong zone. In this version of the future, every human being is allotted 25 years of life then drops dead. Everything is paid for with time that they wear on their arms like a neon sleeve and the prices are fixed by companies. People have to barter, work, steal or kill for more time to live. Since the aging residents in Will’s zone are struggling to stay alive minute-by-minute, the story begins when a man with enough time for 4 generations walks into Will’s neighborhood bar. 

Cillian Murphy (one of my all-time favorites) plays a Time Keeper – the future’s version of police. The tension between the officers and the people exercising their survival instincts was as tight as a rubberband about to snap. There is plenty of action to keep the heart pumping, and the acting in context to such a nightmarish future was believable. 

Guest blogger from Seattle