he's about to turn 30 and he feels like if he doesn't achieve a certain thing by this time, then his life may have been for nothing. he hears a ticking. he literally has a ticking clock in his head. he's trying to figure out what it is. he feels a real urgency to sing his song, to write his musicals, to get the recognition and to get his work into the world. larson lived and worked in new york city, crafting songs for his theatrical endeavours, and working as a waiter in a diner here in lower manhattan. this film succeeds in turning his songs meant for stage into cinematic sequences, and painting a portrait of a man writing as if he's racing against the ticking clock. and that ticking clock turned