The Plot: Joe the main character’s profession is to kill people sent from the future that has been sent to his time by the mafia of the future and with every kill he gets paid in silver. This is known as closing the loop.

In Rian Johnson “Looper” Rian uses time travel to demonstrate the effect time has on one’s perspective on life and the extent they will go to for someone.

Joe is a looper, this is someone who works for the mafia from the future, they send people back in time for the Loopers to kill.
A looper gets fired when the mafia sends back the future version of yourself and a pack of gold, “this is known as closing your loop”. When Joes loop is closed it fails to kill the future version of himself and future Joe gets away.

Future Joe is not the same as present Joe, firstly future Joe did close his loop and he lived a life past where present Joe is. Future Joe found love in his later life and the mafia kills her when they come to return him to get killed by present Joe.

To be able to see his loved one again he decides to kill the young mafia leader so that he isn’t able to give the order to end his loop. This doesn’t sit well with present Joe as he believes that the kid doesn’t have to be killed to change the future but instead just lead him down the right path instead. But future Joe is blinded by the range and though is the older one and the audience would be lead to believe he would be able to make a comprehensive decision for the situation all he can think up to do is to kill the kid.

Just before the future, Joe kills the young mafia leader who the present Joe had been protecting all this time present Joe realizes that future Joes actions are what leads the young mafia leader to kill future joes wife which is how this all started, realizing this the only way to get out of this loop Joe had to not meet the future wife so present Joe makes the ultimate sacrifice and kills himself. This breaks the cycle and the young boy lives a happy and successful life, not as a mafia leader.