The beauty of love stories is that they are a universal language known to us all. It almost doesn’t matter what fashion you present them in if the classic ingredients come together as they should. Director John Crawley’s We Live in Time, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, is aware of its strengths and projects them within a non-linear concoction where actors Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield will both warm your heart in the face of a union that has a definite end date.
Even in the unorthodox way the film is presented, you know a specific type of finality is coming. But sometimes, taking a more tried and true approach is best served when you have the confidence to do so.
Garfield & Pugh Stun in Another Terminal Romance
To start this journey, Crawley and writer Nick Payne set their sights almost immediately on the sunset of this marriage peaking over the horizon. Almut (Pugh) and Tobias (Garfield) receive some news that nobody wants to hear – Almut has late-stage ovarian cancer, and We Live in Time sets its foundation in the shock of that diagnosis.
Would you rather have a tremendous six-month period with death peaking over your shoulder or undergo grueling chemotherapy treatment for a year, in which the result might be the same anyway? In these beginning scenes, you see Garfield’s ability to emote through his facial expressions and Pugh’s penchant for bridging confidence and vulnerability. Both methods are marvelous, working in conjunction with one another.
We Live in Timelines and Hospitals
As you reason with what this couple is facing, Crawley pulls you out of that heaviness and draws you into their unconventional first meeting. It’s not as if they were at a coffee shop and suddenly locked eyes and became curious about one another. Almut accidentally hits Tobias with her car while he’s crossing an intersection. It’s not every day a hospital visit counts as a first date, but unfortunately, hospitals will be a throughline for this couple as we go through the four timelines this film sets up.
In the vulnerability of that moment, Almut and Tobias (wearing a neck brace) establish the benchmarks of their ever-growing courtship. Anytime you feel comfortable, Crawley and Payne work together to place you in a different period. It may feel disorienting sometimes, and there are no set cues to tell you where you are in the story.
Despite that, it all works out for the greater good because, even with its out-of-sync diction, We Live in Time succeeds in getting its overall point across. For example, we learn that Almut and Tobias have a daughter named Ella (Grace Delaney), whom they both have to tell the news to during an unexpectedly funny restaurant scene. Then, the film jumps backward to show that children were not initially in the cards for this couple. Almut already had to deal with a first bout of cancer, which jeopardized childbirth for her.
Florence Pugh & Andrew Garfield Are Key to the Film’s Success
Even further behind that, there are competing notions of how this relationship will realize itself. Almut is a multi-talented chef who loves what Tobias brings her in terms of companionship, but is equally driven by the promises of career achievement. Before Tobias met Almut, he was going through a divorce. Although compassionate and caring, Tobias almost has to undergo a metamorphosis of his conventional expectations.
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Watching them go through that journey together and reach a point of equal compromise is beautiful. There is a palpable chemistry between Pugh and Garfield, which makes this couple feel real – whether it be the giddiness of their first hookup or a complicated conversation about where their uncertain future may lead. With Pugh’s Almut, it’s about the legacy she looks to leave behind for her daughter to look towards.
Too Little of a Beautiful Thing
The central plight of the current timeline within We Live in Time deals with Almut’s choice of taking part in a prestigious cooking event, even with the harsh treatment she’s undergoing. Crawley doesn’t hold back on showing how difficult combating cancer is, but thankfully, Almut has a support system with Tobias and her cooking understudy, Jade (Lee Braithwaite). While Pugh conveys Almut’s desires and fears through dialogue, Garfield takes on physical aspects of it as a husband seeing his limited time with the person he loves fade away.
The film feels like the positive and negative moments are dancing together in a random assortment, because life can be an arbitrary game of chance. Because of how We Live in Time jumps around, there are character moments and narrative revelations where you’ll want more from them. Especially when you consider how many significant moments and conflicts this film provides within just over an hour and thirty-minute package. Or maybe it’s because we want to see this couple somehow defy the odds and walk on their yellow brick road forever.
We Live in Time succeeds in its mission because we will always be inclined to root for romance against the ticking hands of the clock. The A24 film hits theaters Oct. 11, 2024, and is currently screening at TIFF; find more information here.
