Movie Review: ‘We Live In Time’

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Review by James Lindorf

John Crowley, director of 2015’s Best Picture nominee Brooklyn, is at the helm of his first film in five years, bringing Nick Payne’s (Wanderlust) script to life for A24. We Live in Time is a deeply emotional drama poised to be the biggest tearjerker of the year as it continues to expand the limited-release schedule that began on October 18th.

Almut (Florence Pugh), an up-and-coming chef, and Tobias (Andrew Garfield), an IT specialist for the cereal company Weetabix, have a very atypical meet cute, but it still changes their lives. Over a decade-spanning romance, they fall for each other, build a home, become a family, and learn to cherish every moment as cancer puts a time limit on their time together. Torn between wanting to enjoy every day, or fighting a miserable war against the disease to an uncertain end, Almut settles on trying to have it all. While undergoing treatment, she plans a wedding with Tobias and competes in a prestigious cooking competition, the Bocuse d’Or.

“We Live in Time” is a reunion for Crowley and Garfield, who worked together in 2007’s “Boy A,” where Garfield made his film debut. Cowley may not have known he was working with a young man who could easily receive his third Oscar nomination for Best Actor, but he is fully aware of his capabilities now. Crowley asks a lot of Garfield, whose Tobias is not as good at verbally expressing his emotions as Almut, and gives a lot of his performance with his eyes and facial reactions. Equalling his performance is Florence Pugh, who gets to give a much more dynamic performance. Almut is outspoken, passionate, and driven; she’s a wife, mother, and successful chef with a loyal staff, including Lee Braithwaite’s Jade, Almut’s assistant in the Bocuse d’Or. As good as they are individually, they are even better together. Their chemistry is not just palpable, it’s electrifying, propelling each performer to new heights. They are at their peak during a medical emergency in a gas station bathroom, which is about five minutes of cinematic perfection. The scene is acted wonderfully and contains enough fear and joy to push audiences to tears and enough humor to keep things balanced.

I don’t often feel passionate about film editing. The last time I would have put money on a movie being nominated in that category was 2021’s “Belfast.” Still, I am ready to do it again, and hopefully, I won’t be wrong this time. “We Live in Time” is the best execution of non-linear storytelling in the last decade or more. I struggle to think of a better use of the narrative technique since “Momento” or even “Pulp Fiction.” By arranging it this way, Payne and Crowley take a tragic story and keep the audience on their toes, introducing humor in unexpected places and creating a narrative that is as engaging as it is emotional.

Additionally, it keeps Almut’s struggle in front of your mind even though, by comparison, it seems to have much less screen time than the other parts of their relationship. Which, in a way, is interestingly honest storytelling. At the time, cancer can be and often is all-consuming, but in the larger scheme of things, it represents less than 10% of their time together at this point. Almut spends more time pregnant with their daughter Ella than she is shown to be sick in the movie. It serves as a reminder that even if she doesn’t win the fight, it is not all their relationship was about, and while it would always leave its mark, it won’t define everything they were and had together.

The only thing that prevents the film from earning a perfect 5 out of 5 from me is that Payne made a few odd decisions for his characters. Almut’s explanation about why she is competing in secret is weak at best. It creates drama where there doesn’t need to be any, leading to harsh judgment of her character. It makes her look like a worse partner and mother than maybe Payne unless he likes the idea of not treating Almut as unassailable because she is ill. Typically, sick characters are treated with kid gloves because of their condition. It is nice to break that tradition but it would have been even better if a single conversation wouldn’t have prevented it all. Then there is Tobias, whose ability to share his emotions comes and goes. Earlier in their relationship, he was able to have a full-on “Jerry Maguire” “you complete me” monologue, but years later, he had to hand over his notebook so Almut could read his thoughts. It is a strange regression in the character and his comfort level with Almut that would have felt more natural had it been reversed. For those reasons, “We Live in Time” comes out with a final score of 4.5 out of 5, which still earns it a place in my top five films of the year.

Rating: R
Genre: Romance, Drama
Original Language: English
Director: John Crowley
Producer: Adam Ackland, Leah Clarke, Guy Heeley
Screenwriter: Nick Payne
Distributor: A24
Production Co: SunnyMarch, Film4, Canal+, Ciné+, StudioCanal, Shoebox Films
Release Date (Theaters): October 11th, 2024
Runtime: 1h 48m