We Live in Time Review: Garfield & Pugh Are Magnetic
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
‘We Live in Time‘ makes one wonder why Andrew Garfield isn’t in more sweeping romance movies. He has the chocolate-boy charm, the ‘green flag’, or rather the whole ‘green field’ persona, making it easy to believe that a cynical, independent character like Florence Pugh’s Almut has no trouble letting her guard down around him, after running him over with her car first, though. Andrew Garfield (‘Spiderman’, ‘Hacksaw Ridge’) and Florence Pugh’s (‘Dune 2’, ‘The Wonder’) chemistry in this film is absolute screen magic. They might just rekindle the dying flame of romance in the hearts of sceptics. Although, fair warning: this is R-rated, featuring nudity, and a graphic delivery scene that will make some viewers (me included) squirm in their seats.
Created by John Crowley (director) and Nick Payne (writer), We Live in Time starts off with Almut on a morning jog. She then goes home, collects eggs from her hens in a pen, whips up something, and gets her partner Tobias (Andrew Garfield), still sleeping, to wake up and taste it for her. He isn’t irritated or annoyed but indulgently gives in to her request. It’s a warm domestic scene, setting the tone for their relationship equation, which does get stormy but is largely stable, until cancer comes knocking on Almut’s ovaries. Suddenly, the rest of their lives together looks uncertain, and their first challenge is to explain the situation to their 3-year-old daughter Ella (Grace Delaney).
Tobias is a sweet, laid-back representative for a cereal company, while Almut is an ambitious chef running her own restaurant. ‘We Live in Time‘ is narrated non-linearly, unfolding in three different timelines. The movie starts in the present, then immediately shifts back to the past, where the couple is navigating through Almut’s difficult pregnancy. The third timeline goes further back to tell the story of how they met: Almut accidentally runs over Tobias when he suddenly drops something on the road and tries to pick it up. A very unconventional meet-crash. Also, a genuinely interesting comedic “How I Met Your Mother” story: “Oh, I dropped some stuff on the road and was knocked unconscious when your mother’s car hit me while I was trying to pick my things up.” Spanning about a decade, the film is a moving snapshot of their evolving, tender relationship.
While the first half of ‘We Live in Time‘ is nearly flawless, making viewers cheer for Tobias and Almut at every turn, the multiple timelines soon start to disrupt the flow of the tale. Thankfully, at least the timelines aren’t confusing, especially since Almut has a distinctly different haircut in the past and is pregnant in the middle timeline despite the same hairdo. Apart from that, the second half also begins to get formulaic, foisting some relationship drama through Almut hiding something, which really wasn’t necessary and feels slightly uncharacteristic of her otherwise straightforward, no-filter, feisty persona.
One of the best things ‘We Live in Time‘ does is subtly display how humans are willing to let go of some of their own hang-ups about things for love. And like the title suggests, it’s of course a lot about living in the present rather than fussing and stressing over what the future might bring. Ironically, even though Almut is the one who believes in living in the present, she eventually succumbs to the pressures of thinking, “What would happen when I am no longer around?” But of course, that’s the paradoxical dichotomy inherent in us all. We say one thing, we might mean something else, and it’s okay to have a change of heart. There are no condescending “I told you so” rejoinders in the tale, although Tobias and Almut do have their fights and low points. The rest of the cast are just bystanders in their love story.
Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh have exceptional chemistry in ‘We Live in Time‘, and I would love to see them cast in a romantic comedy next time, with a more certain happy ending. I remember lamenting how Garfield had no spark with his romantic interest in Tick, Tick… Boom! (a great musical, by the way), but this film casts him in a whole new light. I have yet to see a film where Florence Pugh gives viewers any reason to complain about her acting, even in the forgettable ‘Black Widow‘, she holds her own alongside showstopper Scarlett Johansson.
Seriously, just watch this movie for the lead actors. They power this 1-hour-48-minute drama and manage to wash over some of the disappointment from familiar tropes forced in the second half. The climax feels a little rushed, so this is a rare film that I think could’ve easily added a few more minutes to give viewers the chance to bid a more emotional goodbye to Tobias and Almut.
Rating: 8 on 10. We Live in Time is on Prime Video.
Also Read: Sirens Netflix Series Review (Short Audio Version below)
