We Live in Time

What probably read out like a Lifetime or Hallmark movie during a table read, and what probably would still be one if in lesser hands, Joe Crowley’s We Live in Time is a weepy love story that ends up feeling transfixing. You would think a movie about pregnancy, marital complications, cancer diagnosis, and staying true to your dreams would play out like typical Hollywood Hokum, but it strays away from that in part to the execution. Like he did with Brooklyn, Crowley has once again delivered some rich poignancy to a dramatically satisfying tearjerker that offers outstanding performances between the two leads of Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield, who both deliver exceptional chemistry that truly anchors it away from ever feeling trite, manipulative, or pat. The film also has a non-linear structure that makes the film work, even though some of the narrative does come off slightly.

The film is a portrait of a relationship between Tobias (Andrew Garfield), who works as a marketing representative for a cereal company, and Almut (Pugh), a once famous Olympic ice-skater who is now a professional chef in which she specializes in fusion cousin. The film bounces between past and present, where we see how their first encounter as well as other fragments of their live during a period of five years or so. There are some interesting creative choices with the chronology that involve divorce papers, a car accident, and career choices. You can see their relationship evolve with ups and downs, but you always find yourself invested with the narrative in part to the pairing of Garfield and Pugh. Their emotions ring true, even when it hints at feeling shmaltzy, Crowley finds a way to balance it out with artistry and with the structure and raw performances from the dynamic chemistry between Pugh and Garfield. The non-linear narrative is certainly a gamble, and it takes a different approach to a domestic drama involving romance, but its exchanges and smart writing by Nick Payne truly anchors the material.

Courtesy A24 Films

It’s also extra brave in how it views the relationship dynamic. Usually, it’s the male character who focuses on career and doesn’t want children or rush into marriage just yet, in the film its Almut who has the aspirations of living her life out before settling down with motherhood and marriage. It’s a different approach to the material, there is a lot of balancing going on with the narrative. Crowley even uses a beautiful slow-motion montage of the couple that echoes the style of Wong-Kar Wai.

I wish I could say more. Admittedly, I know most romantic dramas are trite and predictable but trust me: it avoids a lot of familiar trappings. We don’t get exhausting hospital scenes, no cliches involving estranged siblings or parents, and you will just have to see it for yourself. All around, this film does depart away from so many other romantic dramas, and it adds more human vulnerabilities and  complexity. With that, much of the human drama will undeniably make you swoon, and it earns it.

We Live in Time is now playing in theaters.