Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Time Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 23, 2022

"With liberty and justice for all" may be inscribed upon the hearts and minds of many Americans, but as Time makes depressingly clear, it may not be actually true for all Americans. Sibil Fox Richardson married her high school sweetheart Rob Richardson, and the two quickly started a family and decided they wanted to try to start a hip hop clothing store, but when they felt their dream slipping from their cash strapped fingers, they made a fateful and admittedly very stupid decision to try to rob a bank. Suffice it it say things didn't go exactly as planned and both of them ended up in prison. This riveting documentary weaves together literally years of home video Sibil in particular shot with newly filmed interviews and interstitials done by Garrett Bradley, with the result being an Academy Award nomination for feature documentary. The advent of home video, or at least the availability of easy to use minicams no doubt aided and abetted (no legal pun intended) the production of this piece, because it's the sheer weight of the "montage theory" (so to speak) that emerges from the juxtaposition of all the footage that does indeed give an indication of just how much time needed to pass before this couple could finally start to build their long delayed version of a happy ending.

It's not immediately clear exactly what's going on as the film opens with one of the archival videos shot by Sibil many years ago. She seems to be a somewhat harried young mother with a very cute but energetic toddler, and as she also "reveals" by standing up in front of the camera, she's additionally very pregnant with twins. It almost comes as a throwaway comment when she mentions her husband is in jail and that in fact she's just gotten out herself. It's a gut punching way to begin this story, but the gut punches are really only beginning, as Bradley, along with copious help from all the footage Sibil and other family members shot over the course of literally decades, starts to weave a story of one boneheaded decision which then catapulted this family into longstanding heartache and separation.

What's so thrilling, then, despite all the sadness and frustration that kind of pervades at least the foundational elements of this tale is how completely resilient the Richardson family is. The kids are absolutely wonderful, obviously raised in an environment of love and nurturing, and even without their father present, there is a remarkably intact feeling of a "whole" hear, though of course there's a major piece missing. Over and over again the candid footage of the kids in particular help to reveal just how special and remarkable all of the Richardsons are, but it is of course Sibil's first person confessionals and the "contemporary" interview segments that really get to the literal heart of the matter.

The bottom line in terms of the "plot" of this piece is that Sibil was not going to take her husband's basically life sentence sitting down, especially when considering he was a first time offender and anyone taking the time to get to know him or Sibil would certainly realize pretty quickly these were not exactly "hardened criminal" types. Sibil soon discovered that she was sadly not alone in terms of families dealing with incarceration and Black families in particular dealing with sentences that seem downright Draconian.

This is an emotionally devastating documentary from any number of angles, but it is also uncharacteristically uplifting. The fact that his family was able to emerge so well balanced and loving from such trauma (and, yes, it was basically self inflicted, at least on a certain level) is a testament to the human spirit. But Bradley's aesthetic sense suffuses this piece and gives it the thrust of a rather brilliantly structured narrative film. For anyone who wants to believe in "liberty and justice for all", Time may initially disabuse folks of that notion before revisiting it from the standpoint of a singular activist whose own idea of the "American Dream" was to be reunited with her husband.

Time Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Time is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer (often) in 1.89:1. As can be seen in some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review, a lot of the archival footage is "old school" that hovers closer to Academy Ratio. The foldout leaflet Criterion includes in lieu of an insert booklet contains the following brief information on the master:

Time is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.89:1. The film was shot on a Sony FS7 handheld camera and incorporates archival material shot on a variety of formats, including MiniDV tapes; it was completed in a fully digital workflow. The 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered from the original digital audio master files.

This is one of those transfers where "how accurate does it look" may collide occasionally with "how good does it look", but with an understanding that some of the archival material is replete with all sorts of baked in issues, down to an including tracking problems and the like, this is a stellar looking transfer. Its strengths are probably unavoidably most noticeable in the contemporary footage, which stays in the same black and white as the archival footage, but which offers really beautiful clarity and some amazing levels of fine detail. Bradley isn't above going for "artistic" flourishes with her framings and lighting choices, and the transfer supports everything beautifully, with nice, solid contrast and extremely well modulated gray scale. I noticed no compression issues of any kind.

Time Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Time features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which frankly may strike some as unnecessary for a film that really doesn't have a ton of "showy" sonics. The underscore frequently utilizes solo piano, and the bulk of the film is simply people talking, either in the contemporary sequences or in the archival video. Some group scenes in the contemporary sequences are decently immersive, but even without incredible engagement of the side and rear channels, fidelity is just fine and everything is delivered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Time Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary was recorded in 2021 and features director Garrett Bradley.


• Garrett Bradley and Hilton Als (HD; 24:35) is a winning conversation between the director and author and gets into a whole host of issues, not necessarily limited to the production of this particular film.


• Fox and Rob (HD; 22:06) is a sweet sit down shot in 2021 featuring the couple at the core of this story.


• Alone (HD; ) is a 2016 short by Garrett Bradley that won the Sundance Short Film Jury Award for nonfiction that year. This features an Optional Commentary Track featuring an interview with Alone Watts, the subject of the film.

Additionally, Criterion provides a foldout accordion style leaflet in the place of an insert booklet, with a Director's Note from Garrett Bradley, an essay called Time in the Mind by Doreen St. Felix, and crew information, thanks, and technical and production data.

Time Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Time is one of the rare documentaries that has both style and substance, and my hunch is few watching this piece are ever going to forget Sibil Fox Richardson or her truly amazing family. Technical merits are solid, and the supplements very enjoyable. Highly recommended.