Come to laugh at the goofy carousel horse, stay to have a lovely, cleansing crying session. Sounds like a nice enough time if you ask me. In We Live In Time, Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh star as Tobias Durand and Almut Brühl, respectively, a young couple in London who we follow for a decade or so through their lovey-dovey odyssey. The romantic drama tells its story in a nonlinear fashion as we get to see the dynamic duo's accidental meet-cute that takes place when Tobias is conveniently dealing with a divorce, him being a sales rep for Weetabix while she is a fresh-faced chef and restaurant owner. Soon after, the two find themselves in a whirlwind romance, falling in love with each other and thinking about their futures, which include questions regarding kids, marriage and Almut's career goals. But when she gets the diagnosis that her ovarian cancer has become terminal, they must learn to savour the time that remains.
At first glance, screenwriter Nick Payne's effort appears to be aiming for an epic, mesmerising love story considering its structure—which was presumably further altered in post—and immense emotional charge. Some audience members might find it to be a dealbreaker that the film never reaches those heights, but the ambition is nonetheless admirable and there are gems to be found amidst the noise. Admittedly, there is indeed a lot of busyness in the script, which doesn't always land as intended, including scenes involving a child birth, public proclamations of love and throwing up (those last two are unrelated in this case, just to be clear). Payne's writing thrives in less showy moments, like when it adds slight shades of silly comedy or unexpected disturbances to support the seriousness, just like Almut adds a finishing touch to a dish. The movie is rather funny, actually, and the horse isn't even a top 20 contributor to that.
Once your expectations are lowered a bit, it's easier to get on the film's wavelength and discover that despite the tragedy impacting the couples' life together, We Live In Time delivers on its title as it's about living, laughing and loving (I'm so very sorry for framing it that way), and not about death. Director John Crowley creates a warm, vibrant space for his two leads, and since they're the reason you're sitting in a dark room for 100 minutes in the first place, you'll be happy to hear that both Garfield and Pugh are truly tremendous here. Pugh translates Almut's drive, disquiet and fortitude skilfully in her performance whilst Garfield portrays Tobias' sense of humour and listening skills sincerely. Both showing their seemingly limitless talent with a pinch of veracity and sex appeal, they constantly elevate and challenge each other in the scenes, which is just beautiful to watch.
How much you end up connecting with the story that is about love and trust is subjective, of course, but the two actors definitely earn each and every bucket of tears, like from yours truly. It's a classic tearjerker but thankfully not in a manipulative way always—there's absolutely a little bit of manipulation and embellishment baked into a scene every now and then. But to be fair, you do have to crack a few eggs on a flat surface in order to make a flow of tears (that's the saying, no?) so the few cheesy moments are very much worth it because eventually Alma and Tobias have you right where they want you to be. Now, it might not work so well the second time, but we don't have to worry about that right now.
Composer Bryce Dessner's achingly moving yet fun score, with its mellow ambient pianos, percussive clicks and peppy melodies, flawlessly reinforces the performances and the emotional stakes they're conveying as well, and editor Justine Wright bounces back and forth different timelines to find those crescendos and devastating parallels alongside Dessner's compositions. Cinematographer Stuart Bentley and Crowley also recognise the superpower that radiates from their actors and so they trust close-ups and mediums to capture the characters' emotions, spirits and souls; no fancy tricks are required.
So we arrive at the fact that very few things are as riveting as watching two of our greatest actors, like Garfield and Pugh, act their hearts out in a film that makes you tear up. Sure, they are also way more beautiful and picturesque than your average couple, and they're coming to terms with an immeasurable tragedy, but when you execute it so well and so poignantly, you just see it as a real human story and nothing less. If a piece of art manages to affect you so deeply, you should perhaps cherish it while you still have time to do so. I certainly do.
Smileys: Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield, score
Frowneys: Minor issues with screenplay
The restaurant's special drink, you asked? Wheat-a-beerx.
4.0/5
Where to watch:
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