Film Title: We Live in Time
Director: John Crowley
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh
Genre: Romance
Release Year: 2024
Rating: 8/10
We Live in Time is a romance film and a certified tears-squeezer from John Crowley, a film director known for romantic period film Brooklyn (2015) which received an Oscar nomination for Best Film. His contribution to the cinema screens this year is a story of Almut (Florence Pugh) and Tobias (Andrew Garfield), their relationship together and coming to terms with a terminal diagnosis. We Live in Time is an emotional journey through love, support, struggle and grief.
The film tells a story of former divorcee and Weetabix IT worker Tobias and a successful chef and restaurateur Almut. The film follows their love story and how they try to live with the fact that Almut has received a terminal diagnosis. The plot reveals their different and similar priorities in that new reality as well as how they reconcile and accommodate for each other to spend the remaining time together as happily as possible.
For this film Crowley went with a non-linear story structure, Almut and Tobias’ story is told through their memories of meeting each other, falling in love and the present events of receiving terminal diagnosis, achievements and making new memories for as long as the illness allows. These two story layers are seamlessly intertwined with each other, showing the depth of the protagonists’ love for one another and their happiness, making the terminal diagnosis even more depressing. We Live in Time is a film that brilliantly shows how to film emotion and affection between people, which is due to not only a good script by Nick Payne, but also the brilliant performances by the cast with Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield hitting every emotional beat of the script.
Here it is very useful to discuss the use of the non-linear structure regarding the characters. The narrative layer concerning the memories is shown from Tobias’ perspective – the audience gets to know him as a person and what he cherishes in his relationship with Almut. In those memories he is seen as an active, very loving, caring and romantic partner that is always there for Almut. This is explicitly shown during Almut’s pregnancy and the first time she receives her diagnosis, as Tobias goes with her to all appointments, tracks all the important data and always makes sure that all her needs are met. It can be said that Tobias is presented as a perfect partner that everyone wants to have. While being supportive and putting Almut first, he also is honest about his needs and goals he has for the relationship, but he is never pushy about it and all the conversations about any conflicts or struggles between him and Almut are carried with respect and love in mind. The memories also show what Tobias will miss once Almut passes away. The character of Tobias is something not often seen in romance film, the audience hardly gets presented with a man that is a competent partner, father and companion, as usually it is a hot heart-robber that gets all the limelight.
The part of the story that concerns the current events is shown from the perspective of Almut. She is an ambitious and already successful chef. She lives a healthy, active lifestyle, takes care of her chicken coup and garden. Her goal before she dies is to be remembered for her culinary achievements beyond just being a mum or a partner who passed away. This somewhat clashes with the other plans she made with Tobias, as it worsens her condition and takes away her time with the family that she very much loves. Her part of the story concerns whether she can have it all – get the Bocus d’Or and make new memories with her family. In the film it is presented as a mild and resolvable conflict of interest as We Live in Time is a story of how good and healthy a relationship can be. That even if some compromises must be made it does not need to mean that any party gets less than what they wanted. It is a message that is precious in current times as more and more people tend to view committed relationships as a chore that will result in them losing agency and sense of self – Tobias and Almut’s story shows that it does not need to be this way.
The story aside the film has been filmed rather conventionally for its genre, it is not really remarkable in this aspect, but then neither is this the point of We Live in Time in the first place. It is a character study, and in those the script is the main backbone of the entire film as it is the exploration of characters’ choices and actions that is the interesting part not how visually appealing the film is. However, the problem this film runs into is the oversaturation with close-up shots – sadly a growing trend as the main film screens shifted from cinema to television or even portable devices. This has led to close to an abandonment of a wide shot as visual spectacle decreases in scale and priority. This is possibly also the reason why We Live in Time is not visually interesting at all. It is ok, it does its job but there are no memorable shots that this movie has to offer.
Finally, the music score. This is allegedly the worst part of the film, especially in one of the first erotic scenes, where the score completely clashes with the romanticism of that scene. This is especially regrettable as We Live in Time is a rare example where sex is shown as a romantic activity rather than a purely carnal urge that means nothing. Then there is the sad, thoughtful theme, which is a cliché for the genre, but also given how good the performances and the script are that additional musical emphasis does not feel needed, it just seems excessive.
John Crowley’s, We Live in Time is a very entertaining and sweet watch. The characters are compelling, the problems are real and resolvable. The emotional load of the film is felt through every scene, and it avoids being corny or cheesy. I would recommend this film to anyone who loved How Harry Met Sally and Love Story, as well people who need a good wholesome cry or something to watch with their partner in the cinema. We Live in Time will be available in theaters from 6th of December.
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