Though I don’t consider myself a movie fanatic, occasionally a movie will come out that piques my interest. When I saw that Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, two people I adore as both humans and actors, were starring in a romantic drama directed by John Crowley, called We Live in Time, I knew I had to watch it. The movie tells the love story of Almut ( Pugh) and Tobias ( Garfield) as they navigate the challenges life brings them, including Almut’s cancer diagnosis. For weeks, I anticipated its arrival, and when it finally did release, I went to see it on opening night with my friends. I even made it a point to remove my makeup before going, as I expected to cry my way through the whole movie.
However, instead of leaving with a broken heart or eyes full of tears, I found myself leaving the theater wishing I had not spent the $20 on the ticket. What shocked me even more was that when I looked online to see what people were saying, I found that I was one of few people who felt that way.
Part of the reason I didn’t enjoy the film as much as I had hoped was the way the story was told. We saw Almut and Tobias’ story told through snapshots of their life, meaning there were various flashbacks and flash-forwards. While I normally appreciate those in TV and film, because they not only add context, but an understanding of the characters, I feel like it hindered this film more than helped. Telling the story in a nonlinear way didn’t reveal anything interesting, but instead seemed to be used as a cover-up for the simplicity of the movie.
The inconsistency with Almut’s character made the movie a struggle to watch. She started off outraged by a very valid conversation that Tobias wanted to have with her regarding children. He found himself falling for her, but did not want to put all his eggs into one basket, and she felt as though he was expecting too much too soon. Eventually, he came to terms with her lack of a want for children. Then, randomly, Almut decided that she did want (biological) children with Tobias, so much so that she risked her own life by getting only one ovary removed when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Now that she had the child that she wanted, when she gets re-diagnosed with cancer after previously being in remission, Almut decided to not do chemotherapy and spend what little time she had left practicing for a cooking competition, instead of with her family. Despite already being an accomplished chef and figure skater, she did this in order to leave a legacy behind that her daughter could be proud of, forcing Tobias to have to compromise yet again by giving up on their wedding plans. Anyone truly driven by their career would not risk their life to have a child, and anyone deeply longing for motherhood would not sacrifice their little time left with their daughter.
The only thing that somewhat saved this movie, in my opinion, was the talent of Garfield and Pugh. Both of them took a seemingly uninteresting, predictable script and made it seem not as dull. One scene in particular that moved me was the scene where they shave Almut’s hair. Through their acting, Pugh and Garfield were able to turn a very obviously heavy moment into something lighthearted and joyful. You can feel the love their characters have for each other and for their daughter. It was one of the very few scenes that managed to make me choke up.
Ultimately, the movie was just as doomed as Almut and Tobias’ relationship. I was disappointed and would give it a two out of five stars. The poor execution of this film was carried severely by the actors’ chemistry and charisma.