The Tyranny Of The Clock By George Woodcock

Movie Essay

In the essay titled, “The Tyranny of the Clock” by George Woodcock and the film, “ Nick of Time” demonstrates how the movement of the clock sets the tempo of the lives of people. People become the servants of time, always hurrying through meals, rushing to catch busses or trains, all contribute as examples of our regular routines in life. The clock influences the habits of people by making them do things that ruin their health and shorten their life because they are so overwhelmed to do a specific type of job that they let themselves be manipulated by a man-made machine. Woodcock theory believes that the only way a person can live a well balanced and healthy life is by no longer being dominated by time. The film, “Nick of Time”, portrays the concept of time by
telling a s story about a young public attendant named Gene Watson who arrives on a train at Union Station in Los Angeles, accompanied by his six year old daughter named Lynn.
He is approached by two pretending cops named Mr. Smith and Ms, Jones who kidnaps Lynn and is given a choice to either kill the governor in 90 minutes or Lynn will die. He is given a gun, six bullets, and a name tag that will give him access throughout the whole hotel. Watson deliberately attempts to tell authorities but realizes that most of the securities are also behind the plot. He is conflicted by such impossible task, yet he only had a certain amount of time to complete his task. Throughout most of the movie Watson undergoes through some changes. For instance, in one scene the actor Gene Watson had to go to the restroom because he was filling sick and tired. He was so petrified about his daughters
death, that he began to feel sick. He began to puke and sweat like a pig. During the whole entire film Watson was pushed to the point where he himself had become a murderer. Time is integral to the plot of the movie because the only way Gene Watson were to save his daughter was by trying to beat time and murdering the governor of California. Watson was very attentive to time that he always had his eye on the clock. Gene Watson faced so many problematic situations that forced him to slow down . He was always following the footsteps of Mr. Smith. Gene Watson had several choices to make and so many actions to take with just a small amount of time it seemed like an impossible task. Time is never on our side, it leaves without us. In “The Tyranny of the Clock”, Woodcock theories of the concept of time supports the circumstances played on the film. For instance, in one scene Gene Watson was in a ballroom filled with crowds of people, awaiting for the arrival of the governor of California, he checks the time in order to check how much time was left, he only had about 2 minutes to kill the governor otherwise he will loose his daughter Lynn. Before Watson takes out his gun, he checks the time and notices he dosent have any time left and therefore he must do what he has to do. This simply shows how time in this movie plays an active role in terms of the concept of time, because Gene Watson is simply being manipulated against and acting more as a servant to man-made machine and because of it he is forced to commit a crime.