“We Live In Time” Review
Florence Pugh (Left) and Andrew Garfield star in “We Live In Time”, a romance spanning a decade brought to us by A24.
Why do we love romance stories so much? After all, people fall in love and out of it every day. It seems like such an ordinary thing. But, of course, that’s why it’s so special. It’s a universal part of us that we want to see play out in our lives and in our stories. Like the other genres this studio has taken on, A24’s take on romance has made big waves in the world of cinema with films like “The Spectacular Now”, “Past Lives” and “Love Lies Bleeding”. Even the Best Picture winning “Everything Everywhere All At Once” offered us one of the most iconic romantic lines of all time with “in another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you” which I think can stand alongside quotes like “you complete me,” “we’ll always have Paris” and “love means never having to say you’re sorry.” With charming performances, a strong sense of intimacy and beautiful love, “We Live In Time” is a wonderful romance that warrants a trip to the cinema but only if you’re armed with tissues.
Told out-of-order and set over the course of a decade, the film depicts the romance between Tobias Durand (Andrew Garfield) and Almut Brühl (Florence Pugh) from their first encounter where Tobias is hit by Almut’s car to Almut’s diagnosis with ovarian cancer. In this decade, we see them fall deeply in love, share their dreams, become parents and create a family in a story that thrives in how beautiful and complicated life can be.
Before “We Live In Time” was even released there was plenty of buzz surrounding the film. Not just because it’s an A24 film, not just because it’s a romance film with two of Hollywood’s biggest names, not just because Florence Pugh famously shaved her head for the role and not just because it promised to both warm our hearts and break them. But because of that fucking carousel horse. In one of the film’s promotional images, which depicts Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh on a carousel in a romantic embrace, one of the horses on said carousel had the most unnerving expression on its face with “the blackest eyes, the devil’s eyes” as Dr. Sam Loomis would say. However, when that scene in the film approached, not a single person in my packed theater was laughing at that fucking horse. We were just too entranced by the chemistry of Garfield and Pugh. That says a tremendous lot about how well this duo functions.
With years of vocal versatility under their belts, hearing Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh use their natural British accents was positively charming and it doesn’t stop there. The chemistry they display throughout the entire film is stunning and, whether they’re sharing a romantic moment or in the midst of a deep argument, you never lose sight of their love. Garfield has this deep sensitivity to him while Pugh displays this silent confidence that goes hand-in-hand with her job as a chef. Together, they form a duo so strong that it immediately hooks the audience. vThe heart of this film rests upon them and they stole mine from the very first scene.
Written by Tony award nominee Nick Payne, “We Live In Time” utilizes its nonlinear storytelling expertly. What I’ve always liked about telling the story out of order is how it makes the audience a participant within the story rather than a passive observer. We get to piece together how things connect to each other and we’re happy to put the effort into this process because we love Tobias and Almut. We get to be a part of their little world and to take part in the small moments captured by John Crowley’s remarkable direction.
Bringing the same energy to the film that he brought to “Brooklyn”, Crowley makes an atmosphere so cozy and precious. It gives the audience this feeling of looking into these lives and feeling their joy and their pain. The camerawork by cinematographer Stuart Bently is quite personal and brings you into the film.
To watch “We Live In Time” is to become immersed in a beautiful life’s story. With such remarkable performances keeping you hooked, it’s an effort from A24 that continues to assert the studio’s dominance, resulting in a pleasant experience in the cinema.
