In Time

This weekend I saw the movie "In Time", a 2011 release.  The basic plot of this movie is that currency becomes time instead of paying with bills, coins, or cards.  Once a person hits the age of 25 their clock starts with a year.  You can gain or lose more, but once its gone you die.

Even though this is a Hollywood feature film there are some nicely lit scenes.  There is a chase scene above the roof tops in the ghetto of the movie.  There is a variety of light sources from outside, which light the actors and their surroundings.  This out door night light also illuminates some  important scenes inside buildings as well.

Another scene with great alternative lighting is in the ocean.  The two main actors from above are swimming in the ocean.  As part of the plot, the keep track of their clocks because they are displayed in green on their arms.  In the ocean, the green light glows and lights their faces from below, under the water.  This greats a mysterious affect as well as an intimate feeling as the actors become closer emotionally.

 

For me this light is not just aesthetically pleasing but mysterious.  The colors have unique tones to them, which make them appear foreign or unusual.  The affect from these different colors gives the actors, and surroundings of the movie a feeling.  This feeling is of difference and uncertainty.  We don't understand how these colors play across the different forms because they don't seem natural.  This helps us perceive that this is a far of time and world from the one we currently live in.  The colors of light used help to create this futuristic world where currency is measured in time, not money.