“In Time” was the “Oblivion” of 2011; an intelligent,
action-packed, beautifully shot science fiction film. “In Time” is written and directed by Andrew
Niccol who gave us one of the very best science fiction films of the post “Blade
Runner” (1982) era, “Gattaca” (1997).
After blowing us away with his work in David Fincher’s “The
Social Network” (2010), Justin Timberlake proves he can play an action hero. The triple threat talent lights up every frame
he is in and anchors a terrific cast that includes Amanda Seyfried, “Mad Men’s”
Vincent Kartheiser, Olivia Wilde, and the outstanding Cillian Murphy who
delivers a knockout performance as The Timekeeper.
Besides Andrew Niccol’s socially relevant “Logan’s Run”-esque
script, Roger Deakin’s superb cinematography, the charismatic cast, “In Time”
also benefits from an engaging score composed by the eclectic and talented
Craig Armstrong. Known more for his work on films such as “Moulin Rouge” (2001)
and “Ray” (2004) where the songs took center stage and the scores went (mostly)
unreleased, Armstrong composed one of the best horror/suspense scores of the
past two decades, “The Bone Collector” (1999), the underrated and irresistibly
melodic and melodramatic “The Incredible Hulk” (2008), and the wonderfully
soaring romantic themes of “Love Actually” (2003).
Armstrong creates a layered, textural soundscape to capture
the brooding futuristic mood of “In Time”. He builds on top of this base by demonstrating
his gift for melody as he deliberately develops the themes throughout the
score, carefully building toward an emotionally satisfying finale.
The soundtrack open with “In Time Main Theme”, a haunting buildup
of layered strings and synths that brings to mind Michael Nyman’s gorgeous
theme for Niccol’s “Gattaca”. Next up is the propulsive “Lost Century”, a solid
track marred by a lack of distinctiveness from your average Media Ventures cue.
Armstrong fares much better with the next two tracks “The Cost of Living” and “Mother’s
Run”, music used to score a key emotional scene in the movie between Justin
Timberlake’s character Will and his mother Rachel played by Olivia Wilde.
But the second half of the soundtrack album is filled with cues
that do demand attention, both in the film and especially as a stand-alone
listen.
“Clock Watching” is beautiful cue marred only by its
brevity. “Rooftop Chase” is—well—exactly what you imagine a techno-oriented action
track titled “Rooftop Chase” should sound like. “Be Immortal” brings back a
brief statement of the main theme before morphing into a vivid atmospheric
suspense action cue.
It is in the final four tracks—representing the finale of
the movie and the end credits—where Armstrong really gets his groove going. “Leaving
the Zone” builds a wickedly exciting techno track around the main theme and is
followed up by the engaging, choral dominated cue “In Time Choral Theme”, a
return to action in “There’s Still Time”, and a finally a full throttled
orchestral statement of Armstrong’s beautiful main theme in “In Time Main Theme
(Orchestral)”.
Bottom line, although not as good as “The Bone Collector” or
“The Incredible Hulk”, Craig Armstrong’s score for “In Time” is entertaining
and always engages and makes for a solid stand-alone listen.