Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield star in this classic romantic comedy-drama. We Live in Time follows the years-long love of Thomas (Garfield) and Almut (Pugh) in a nonlinear fashion. The film begins with Almut’s cancer diagnosis and moves through various moments in their lives that give us a glimpse into the kind of people they are and how they came to be. From John Crowley, director of films like Brooklyn and The Goldfinch, comes a beautiful story that feels true, absurd in all the right ways, and filled with grounded, heartbreaking performances.
Andrew Garfield Was Terrified of Shaving Florence Pugh's Head for We Live in Time
From the opening scene, you know what a tearjerker We Live in Time is going to be. Any film about loved ones who have been diagnosed with an illness is going to be heartbreaking, and it can be risky to start a film by tearing you apart, but it works because this scene speaks to everyone who has lost someone important to them. The film shows the initial shock and the challenging decisions that have to be made afterwards. From there, we move into their meeting and more moments where they mean the world to each other.
The structure most closely resembles the script for 500 Days of Summer, a romantic comedy that began with a couple breaking up and then transitioned into a nonlinear structure that bridged key moments in their relationship. The films are quite different, as that film had a more comedic tone and did a better job of using its nonlinear structure to provide both laughable and depressing surprises. We Live in Time’s nonlinear structure feels a bit more frivolous, bouncing back and forth between many different time periods without the decisions feeling too deliberate or precise.
But We Live in Time really shines through the charm of its two leads. Garfield and Pugh are two of the most famous actors of the moment and it’s great to see them together and finally get to use their British accents. They have an exceptional, believable chemistry with each other and they portray this romance with a love that always feels grounded. Even in the more bizarre scenes, such as a birth in an unexpected location, the film works well and succeeds in telling a romance that strikes all the right chords.
