Time Spent
2023 · 12m · UK
Directed by Rob Hutt
Tones: dark, provocative, tense
Nathan and his girlfriend are struggling with the UK cost-of-living crisis. When he lands an interview for a dream job at a luxury London apartment, he's confronted with an impossible choice: sell 20 years of his life to live debt-free.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Literalizing cost-of-living anxiety as a body-horror Faustian bargain is exactly the kind of on-the-nose sci-fi metaphor I'd usually loathe, but at twelve minutes it might land before it gets cute. Cautiously curious.
The In Time premise repurposed for Brexit-era cost-of-living anxiety has a clear conceptual hook, though such allegories are only as strong as their execution. I'd want to see whether the bargain feels earned.
Literalizing the UK cost-of-living crisis as a Faustian trade of lifespan for debt-free living is a tight 12-minute high-concept hook that earns the In Time comparison. Klipist's description is light on craft beyond the premise, so I'm betting on the screenplay over confirmed visual specifics.
Reviews
Interesting idea, sell 20 years of your life to live debt free. So much in this short film that could have added another 10mins to it.
It grabs you from the start and you can tell it's been made to a high standard. It's not often you walk away from watching a film still thinking about the plot and story and wondering what you would do.