Time (2020) Movie Review
Time is a fickle thing. Throughout this documentary, time is examined via voice-over musings as well as video diaries from years ago. Further echoing the subject of time, Sibil Fox Rich flits across the screen in two forms. Her current self, a middle aged woman who is a public speaker and activist. And her former self, a young mother of six struggling to raise her sons alone. These two contrasting spaces in time, give a full picture of Sibil’s life.
She met her husband, Rob, in high school. They got married and started a hip hop clothing store together. When some of their investors pulled out they became disheartened and decided to rob a bank. As Sibil mentions, “Desperate people do desperate things.” This desperate act landed both she and Rob in jail. While she took the plea deal and only served a few years, Rob was sentenced to sixty years in jail with no chance of parole. Sixty years. That’s a lot of time.
This one sentencing altered Sibil’s life forever. She became determined to get Rob out earlier. The rest of her life was spent strategizing and advocating on his behalf. She hired numerous lawyers to fight the sentencing and travelled around doing speaking gigs, all while raising her six sons. Time is filmed in black and white and mixes the more polished present day with the grainy footage of Sibil’s younger years.
You see her six sons as young boys going to kindergarten and riding in the car. Normal events that happen in every person’s life take on greater meaning with the absence of their father hanging over each moment. The archival footage of Sibil and her sons show the effects of incarceration on a family via small, mundane moments. Rob is absent when one of the young boys wins an award at school. He’s absent later on at a graduation ceremony for dentistry. This absence permeates each scene of the movie, constantly reminding you what has been lost.
For her part, Sibil remains remarkably composed throughout most of the 82 minute run time. Only once does she lose her cool after a phone call inquiring about Rob’s release. The anger bubbles to the surface and she says the system is enough to make you lose your absolute mind, but she isn’t going to. Her strength carries her family (and the movie) through the tough times and you will marvel at her resilience despite the overwhelming burden she must carry.
Throughout the movie you wonder about time. Time lost, time gained, time passing. Can you ever make up for lost time? By the end of the movie this question isn’t answered but you know damn well that Sibil and Rob will try.
Film or Movie: Film
You’ll like this film if:
1. You care about the issue of mass incarceration
2. You like documentaries that are more loose in structure
3. You want to examine the concept of time
