Spoilers Ahead!
On October 20, I took Wildcat Transit to Regal Cinemas to watch John Crowley’s newest release: We Live In Time. I wrote a little bit about this movie in my previous article, as it was one of my most anticipated for the rest of the year. This film is a story about two people coming together under unexpected circumstances – a car accident, no less – that leads them to a life of romance and an eventual battle with cancer.Â
First, the film checks off my two main boxes:Â
1. I laughedÂ
2. I criedÂ
When a film does enough to evoke those emotions, I can usually cross it off as one I would recommend and/or watch again. That fact holds partially true for this movie. Movies that rely around the sickness of a character, particularly cancer, deeply affect me for some reason. I find them to be devastating, so close to real life. They hit me much harder for me than, say, a Marvel film about superheroes fighting to protect their multiverse… Not really my forte. I knew going into this movie that it was reliant on the plot line of Almut’s (Florence Pugh) cancer. While I mentally prepared for that, I still found it to be the factor that kept tears on my cheeks.
Like most films revolving around sicknesses or cancer, it focuses on the patient not wanting to be defined by their illness. This film didn’t stray away from that plot line, and in fact presents it head-on. Regardless of her cancer diagnosis and constantly being sick from her chemotherapy treatment, Almut still signs up for a cooking competition that requires rigorous physical activity and mental perseverance. When her lover Tobias (Andrew Garfield) discovers she has been secretly competing without his knowledge, they engage in a blow up argument. Here is where Almut expresses she doesn’t want to be forgotten and wants to leave their daughter with more than something than just a “dead mom.” She wants to leave her with a legacy. While it was beautiful, moving, and did in fact bring me to tears — it’s nothing new. It’s all been seen before. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing… retold stories are the reason why so many great films exist today. However, it can only be done so many times before it becomes annoyingly repetitive.
The film presents a skewed timeline. This is another aspect that knocked off some points for me. I believe this made it harder for me to connect to the characters. We open up with a scene of Almut and Tobias in a doctors office. Her cancer is back and she’s not so sure she wants to go through treatment again. If the film was set in chronological order, I think this blow would have been immensely more devastating for the audience. We hadn’t had a chance to get to know these characters yet. The constant shifting between the present, the past, and everything in between didn’t add anything to the story and felt unnecessary.
Regardless of these negative aspects, I can confidently say that Florence Pugh brought her A game. Her acting was nothing short of phenomenal, and was one of the main reasons for my enjoyment of this film. She is able to capture me in a way that not many actors and actresses have in the past. Whether she was cooking, ice skating, or giving birth in a gas station bathroom (the highlight of the film for me), I felt almost grateful to be able to experience her in this light. While Andrew Garfield is an Oscar nominated actor, his performance didn’t do much for me. Because he didn’t quite capture me with his acting, he felt almost like a side character instead of the main love interest he was meant to be. This was Florence’s movie – whether it was intended to be or not.
In short, I would recommend this film only to a particular audience… If you’re a fan of either Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield, or John Crowley, I would propose that you add this to your watchlist. If you just love cinema and want to expand your log of films watched, I would also suggest giving this movie a try. However, if you are just someone who is looking for a story about love within the tribulations of sickness, or even just a good love story, I have some other recommendations for you that I believe did much better than We Live In Time.
The Fault In Our Stars (2014) which highlights a story of cancer festering in young lovers, and Five Feet Apart (2019), which follows two young people who develop an interest in one another, but aren’t allowed to touch due to their severe cystic fibrosis. Both of these films presented something that We Live In Time just wasn’t able to… As much as I wish it had. I’m grateful I saw it, but I don’t plan to again.