To imagine Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield, two of the most versatile and beloved actors of our generation, starring in a romance film with an innately heart-wrenching premise, our expectations would certainly be high, and We Live in Time successfully reaches that bar.
Directed by John Crowley, this story follows the lives of Almut (Pugh) and Tobias (Garfield), who meet after she accidentally hits him with her car. As their relationship develops, Almut gets diagnosed with ovarian cancer, influencing their relationship and her aspirations for her career as a decorated chef. Right from the film’s beginning, we see it all—their story is told in a nonlinear order, starting with her diagnosis, telling their daughter about her cancer, and the early stages of their relationship all at once. Through this arrangement, these parts of their lives tell multiple stories simultaneously: the initially rocky relationship of Almut and Tobias as they begin discovering what they want from each other, Almut continuing to pursue her career while fighting cancer, and the most joyful and painful moments of parenthood.
At first, the jumps back and forth along this timeline feel a little disjointed. We already know the beginning, middle, and late stages of their relationship; we already know they end up in love with a child. Naturally, we want to know what’s in between and what they’ve been through to get to each point. This is what makes the film diverge from our instinctual expectations of a romance story. Rather than seeing them meet, gradually get to know each other, and ultimately fall in love, we start by learning the ending of their romance—that their relationship lasts so long and their love for each other is so profound.
The way this initially comes across can make it hard at first to feel invested in their connection. We’re given such potentially emotional moments to start the film that we can’t yet feel their impact—we’ve only just met Almut and Tobias. But as more pieces to their story are shown, we rapidly and devotedly begin to feel how much they care for each other. Yes, we know they’re in love, but seeing how intense and meaningful these moments are that they’ve been through soon propels us into the tragedy and love that they experience. The most intimate scenes aren’t when they’re in the bedroom or falling in love on dates, instead, they’re felt as a product of how they overcome their battles. Every argument, every life-changing event, every up and down experienced during her fighting cancer beautifully pieces together to make their relationship feel so real.
By the end of We Live in Time, the gaps between first few scenes of the movie have been filled to create a story of love so strong between two characters, simply from how much they’ve gone through together and the magnitude of their love that emerges. The journeys of their individual and overlapping conflicts come to a fulfilling end, leaving us with tears to flow and our hearts filled to the brim.
4/5 STARS