We Live in Time (2024) A24/Drama RT: 107 minutes Rated R (language, sexuality, nudity) Director: John Crowley Screenplay: Nick Payne Music: Bryce Dessner Cinematography: Stuart Bentley Release date: October 18, 2024 (US) Cast: Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh, Grace Delaney, Lee Braithwaite, Aoife Hinds, Adam James, Douglas Hodge, Amy Morgan, Niamh Cusack, Lucy Briers, Robert Boulter, Marama Corlett, Nikhil Parmar, Kerry Godliman.
Rating: ** ½
It might cost me my guy card saying this, but I don’t mind tearjerkers. I love a good sappy melodrama dealing with a sick or terminally ill person. I still think 1993’s Untamed Heart is a great movie. We haven’t seen too much of this kind of film since the last of the Nicholas Sparks adaptations, 2016’s The Choice. The genre makes a return with the new film from John Crowley (Brooklyn), the love and cancer story We Live in Time. It’s not as triumphant a return as one would like.
What saves We Live in Time from total failure are the performances from its two leads, Andrew Garfield (The Eyes of Tammy Faye) and Florence Pugh (Little Women). They play Tobias and Almut, a young British couple in love. He’s a rep for Weetabix cereal (it’s a Brit thing). She’s a chef at a trendy fusion restaurant. He’s recently divorced. She’s single. Their meet-cute is one for the books. She hits him with her car while he’s out buying a pen to sign the final divorce papers. From there, they proceed to fall in love. It’s a rocky road, but they find their way. Then she’s diagnosed with ovarian cancer for the second time.
That is just an overview of the plot. What sets We Live in Time apart from other films of its ilk is Crowley’s decision to employ non-linear narrative in its telling. It jumps around in time a lot going from Almut receiving the news her cancer has returned to her pregnancy (between the two bouts of cancer) to the relationship’s early days. It’s a little confusing at first, but it’s easy to follow once you understand what Crowley is up to. We’re given pieces of information throughout like Almut being a figure skater as a teen and her secretly competing in a big cooking competition while she’s undergoing radiation treatment. It’s a lot, but screenwriter Nick Payne (The Sense of an Ending) brings it all together capably. That’s not the problem.
The problem with We Live in Time is it’s dramatically inert. Crowley tries, but it doesn’t tug at the heartstrings like it should. It feels rather reserved, emotionally speaking. I guess it’s a British thing. They’re not known for especially demonstrative so maybe Crowley is just following suit. Even so, it also has a problem with tonal consistency. The way it mixes drama and humor feels off. The viewer isn’t given time to feel sad before Crowley throws in something to elicit laughs. Take the scene where Tobias and Almut try to have a serious discussion with their young daughter about Mummy’s illness at a family-style restaurant. Suddenly, an employee shows up and tries to entertain the kid with magic tricks. It throws everything off.
That’s not to say We Live in Time doesn’t have its moments. It does. One of the best scenes is when Almut goes into labor in a convenience store restroom (or “loo”). A traffic jam prevents medical help from getting there so it’s up to two store employees to assist with the birth. It’s funny and a little bit touching. If only Crowley could have managed this balance throughout.
The two leads save We Live in Time. Pugh, who I absolutely love, does a phenomenal job as Almut, a woman of many layers. She does all the heavy lifting as somebody, a partner (they’re not married) and mother, dealing with the inevitability of a premature death. She wants to be remembered for something which is why she participates in Europe’s biggest cooking competition even though she knows it’s not good for her health. She runs the emotional gamut from happiness with her family to anger when Tobias confronts her about not wanting children. When is the Academy going to give this girl an Oscar?
I don’t think Garfield is all that strong an actor. He always looks like he’s on the verge of busting out laughing. He’s gotten better over the years and We Live in Time may be his best performance yet. He’s quite good as the emotionally fragile partner trying to deal with the love of his life leaving him for the next world. He tries to be strong for Almut and the kid, but you can see he’s barely holding it together. It’s a tricky role, but he pulls it off.
I don’t think We Live in Time is a bad movie, but it’s not a great one either. I’m not sure I’d even call it good. It held my interest, but it left me cold in the end. I just wasn’t feeling it. Crowley should have leaned into the melodrama more than he does. It might be an American thing, but it would have wrung more tears from the audience.
