On October 25th, 2024, director John Crowley’s new film “We Live in Time” was released in theaters around the country. Now, a mere five days later, the piece has earned a score of 79% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.3 out of 10 on IMDb. While, generally, these ratings are considered high on both scales, I believe the Pugh and Garfield piece deserves much higher praise. Having watched it the day of its release, here are my honest, raw, and spoiler-free thoughts on the many facets that comprise this Oscar-worthy movie:
Writing
Given the sensitive essence of the film’s subject, the fleeting nature of human life, the writing for “We Live in Time,” undoubtedly required a meticulous and authentic execution, aspects the primary composer, Nick Payne, delivered wonderfully. The dialogue performed by both Garfield and Pugh demonstrated emotionality that, even if absent of such powerful performances, had the ability to communicate a variety of sentiments and messages in merely a few words, thus emphasizing the weight of many of the topics discussed.
In addition to its beautiful ability to articulate emotion to audiences, Payne’s incorporation of both humor and tension into the script, sometimes simultaneously, perfectly encompassed the film’s overarching idea that life may be joyous despite unfavorable circumstances. Moreover, by combining these two very conflicting sensations, Payne successfully conveyed the humanity within the characters, a facet often lost in films that robotically and superficially create protagonists.
Direction
While being extremely talented, Payne’s work alone is not the reason “We Live in Time” is such a deep and radiant film; in the absence of John Crowley’s direction, Payne’s raw and vigorous writing would not have been sustained. In fact, throughout the film, the camera work employed by the film’s primary director flawlessly accompanied the untamed and fresh nature of the script, demonstrating that, even in films, life may appear messy and complicated.
Specifically, by foregoing a steady camera for a majority of the piece and relying primarily on a handheld strategy, Crowley perfectly emphasized Payne’s writing by eliciting emotion and turmoil behind the camera as well, thus allowing viewers to experience, in every sense, the chaos and passion both Garfield’s and Pugh’s characters endure throughout the film’s duration. In the few moments where the director held a firm shot, Pugh and Garfield were typically involved in a relieving situation, a message Crowley therefore competently conveyed through the peaceful placement of the camera.
Pacing
Considering the film switches off between the past and present for a majority of the piece, as well as the movie’s relatively short duration (an hour and 47 minutes), the pacing of the Crowley piece was especially impressive. In my experience, movies that include two separate timelines may be extremely hard to follow and easy to mishandle. For example, Christopher Nolan’s “Memento” (2000), a film that, although intentional in its complexity, perfectly highlights the difficulty of successfully translating themes through a warping of time.
Contrasting many of the films currently available, the use of flashbacks in “We Live in Time” was not puzzling at all. At no point did the film feel slow, rushed, or lacking, all problems typically encountered in pieces such as this; far from it, in fact. I believe Crowley did a wonderful job of balancing the screen time of both timelines and providing enough timely background for the present scenes to be fully understood and appreciated.
Acting
Of course, any highly-rated film required exemplary performances, a duty Garfield and Pugh certainly mastered. For one, the chemistry between both actors was deeply potent, a component that an emotional and authentic film such as “We Live In Time” heavily relies on. In addition, the actors’ abilities to bounce off of each other’s emotions, whether joyful, sad, or angry, were exceptional. Many times, I found myself lost in the nuance of both the protagonists’ performances, an emotional element that undoubtedly added to the power of the film and fulfilled the final step required to translate the many complex themes and messages of the script.
Holistically, given the film’s superbness in the many facets that comprise a movie, ranging from writing to acting, I rate it a 9.5 out of 10 if mimicking the IMDb scale. I am positively looking forward to learning the 2025 Oscar nominees, as I am sure “We Live in Time” will present itself in many categories.