Movie Review: ‘We Live in Time’ is at its heart a beautiful love story
Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel
To describe the plot of a non-linear story chronologically seems to be counterintuitive. At the very least, the approach undermines the essence of the creator’s intent in selecting the structure. That is true in the cast of We Live in Time. Director John Crowley (Brooklyn) and screenwriter Nick Payne (the Tony Award-nominated Constellations) constructed (or deconstructed) the decade-long relationship of Tobias Durand (Andrew Garfield) and Almut Brühl (Florence Pugh).
As a film, it easily ticks all the boxes of romantic drama: a meet-cute (in this case, she hits him with her car, only causing a slight trauma), courtship, struggle, illness, careers, frustrations, fertility, and family. There are dates and montages, lingering looks, and tasteful scenes of physicality. These well-known and well-worn tropes play with sensitivity and style, even from a standard approach. But in this case, by ignoring the standard narrative and presenting the story as almost a shuffled stack of photos, the often peripatetic tapestry provides greater depth.
Almut’s second bout with ovarian cancer is presented first, giving an unusual resonance to both her first illness and the birth of their child, Ella (Grace Delaney, who manages to be adorable without being precocious).
The individual details—she is a former figure skater turned Bavarian fusion chef/restaurant owner, and he is a Weetabix representative—are handled smartly. At the beginning of the timeline, Tobias is on the cusp of a divorce; the issue of a pen to sign the papers is simultaneously hilarious and poignant. Nothing solely functions as a punchline, and every element serves as textural development.
Central to much of the later conflict is whether Almut will enter the Bocuse d’Or, one of the most prestigious international cooking competitions. Wedding preparations, along with chemo treatment, are deftly threaded.
The “what if’ element of life choices lands differently when you know what will happen. Something as simple as how to properly crack an egg or why one should get a child a dog takes on entirely new dimensions when presented from multiple time perspectives. The film even knows when to allow rom-com elements—an aggressive extraction from an overly tight parking space or a visit to an amusement park. Somehow, the filmmakers manage to elevate the predictable.
Crowley has assembled an excellent cast. Adam James, as Almut’s former boss and mentor, Simon Maxson, hits the right notes, reflecting the pressured world of high-end cuisine competition. Lee Braithwaite is appropriately awkward as Jade, Almut’s commis (novice chef), who assists her.
Nikhil Parmar and Kerry Godliman elevate the convenience store workers who assist with Ella’s birth, making them real and honest rather than playing the scene for easy laughs. Lucy Briers makes the oncologist a person rather than a plot delivery system.
But at heart, We Live in Time is a two-hander. While the ensemble strongly supports the principal characters, it is the story of Tobias and Almut. Perhaps the most overused and indefinable term applied to performances is “chemistry.” However, whatever “chemistry” actually is, Garfield and Pugh have it. Their attraction and connection are wholly displayed, and their frustrations and disappointments are believable. The depth of the relationship never feels false, precious, or theatrical. They achieve that rare symbiosis by simply being present with each other.
Garfield makes Tobias an anxious, occasionally twitchy type A. He is a notetaker and highly emotional, with feelings always bubbling to the surface. In contrast, Pugh’s Almut is a portrait of stillness and silence, intensity that breaks into a smile of gentle joy or erupts into a seething, low-grade anger. They are perfectly complementary.
The fact that the audience always knows not just where they are but when they are is a tribute to Crowley, Payne, and a gifted design team that manages to ground every moment in detailed reality. The film is beautifully paced. Unlike the turgid It Ends with Us (that could have been timed by a calendar), the playing time of just under two hours never flags.
We Live in Time offers a love story told in an unusual and appropriately challenging way. Life’s underlying interconnectedness and complexity are presented with dark humor, wit, and humanity, with two powerful, memorable central performances.
Rated R, the film is now playing in local theaters.
