We Live in Time: Come for the Predictable Romantic Dramedy, Stay for the Chemistry
By Karen Gordon
Rating: B
Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield are two of the best young British actors working today. And putting them together in a romantic dramedy is a smashing idea, as it turns out.
Not only are they, as individuals, eminently watchable, but they have genuine chemistry,
That’s an asset in We Live In Time, the British dramedy about a young couple dealing with cancer. It hits a lot of the right notes, but, overall the film suffers from a predictable plot. But Pugh and Garfield’s nuanced performances give the film empathy and depth that pulls us through.
Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield in We Live in Time
Garfield plays Tobias, and his meet-cute happens when Almut, played by Pugh, hits him with her car. Tobias is about to get divorced and is distracted. Even in a neck brace, he’s charmed. and who could blame him. She’s adorable and warm, and exudes confidence and charisma.
The two flirt, date, make love, marry and have a baby.
There is a fly in the ointment, though, which is revealed early in the film. Almut’s cancer has recurred and she will need a long course of treatment. It will require her to step away from her business.
Outside of the doctor’s office, in the parking lot, Almut puts it to Tobias that maybe she shouldn't do the treatment, and instead just live the time she has left with gusto. We instantly get a sense of the dynamic between these two. Almut, who is a top tier chef with her own restaurant, is bold and risk taking. Tobias is a softer, steadier, and perhaps more grounded person. They're an interesting match.
What unfolds in We Live In Time is a portrait of a relationship that plays out over the course of about a decade. Their story isn't presented in a straightforward way. Instead, until we get to last act of the film, the scenes slide around in time without sign-posting.
It’s an interesting narrative choice. On the upside, it frees the film from having to get us from story point to story point, and frees director John Crowley to focus on certain moments or events in their lives.
Depending on your point of view, the time shifting can be a positive: through the course of the film, and the ups and downs, the non-linear storyline ends up by giving us a sense of the emotional connection between the two.
On the other hand, it can work the other way: My O-C colleague Liam Lacey, who saw the film when it played at the most recent TIFF, described it as “We Live in a Lifetime Movie with the Reels Out of Order.”
Whether the technique works for you or not, it doesn’t deal with the film’s essential problems: it’s emotional manipulation and predictability, and as charming as the film is, as well drawn as the characters are, and modern as the film feels, the Crowley and writer Nick Payne went for a storyline that feels too familiar.
Still, We Live In Time is a beautifully made film, with a cozy, lived-in feel, that may especially resonate with a certain generation. But what is true in general is the appeal of the two leads: Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield are such superb actors that they bring much complexity to characters that might otherwise be simple ‘types’.
There are subtle relationship dynamics at play. The two characters are different and yet are committed to each other. Garfield’s portrait of a modern male partner is also interesting. He’s partner to a tough competitive woman, and yet, he’s not shown, or played as a man who feels either threatened or minimized in this relationship, or as a father. It’s a lovely portrait of two people coming together in the modern world.
We Live In Time. Directed by John Crowley, written by Nick Payne. Stars Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield. In theatres October 18.