“They take time to take off and on, and they’re sexy in a way…. They’re a luxury of the aristocracy, so I used them to telegraph that in a modern way,” the Academy Award winner said.
Color was another way Atwood contrasted the societies, giving those low on time more brightly colored attire. “In the poor part of town, if they did have extra money, they bought something bright and showy as opposed to something quiet and low-key like people with time in the banks,” Atwood explained.
The wardrobe for the wealthy characters features blacks, grays and whites. “Even if you’re in a buff 25-year-old body, and you’re 75 or 100 years old, your tastes have become more refined. The clothing’s not as loud anymore,” Niccol said.
The affluent enclaves of in Century City, Beverly Hills and Malibu stood in for “In Time’s” tony New Greenwich — Niccol said it was only appropriate to shoot the film in Los Angeles, which he called “the capital of staying young forever.” “It was [about] finding the highest-end architecture that we could to create a mix out of Los Angeles areas that really puts out the idea of maximum wealth,” McDowell said.
For the poor zone of Dayton, Niccol and McDowell selected a several-square-block area in an industrial part of downtown L.A., plus recognizable structures like the Sixth Street bridge.