We Live In Time Review

In the opening minutes of We Live In Time, Almut (Florence Pugh) and Tobias (Andrew Garfield) find out that Almut has ovarian cancer, they are given various options moving forward for her chance of survival but in the next scene, set in a hospital car park, Almut asks “hypothetically” what would happen if she didn’t want to go back into treatment? Suggesting that maybe she will live the next 6 months unscuffed by the treatment process and just enjoying each day for how great it can be, treatment isn’t even guaranteed survival, what is there to lose?

From its early moments and the title, We Live In Time is about moments, the ups, and the downs, and wanting to cherish them for what they are. Director John Crowley and writer Nick Payne collaborate to create the newest version of the British romantic drama; which is usually Richard Curtis’ (About Time, Love Actually screenwriter) bread and butter of isolated London un-reality with professions that seem to be financially stable, mostly white speaking roles and a sweet main relationship with two actors who are somehow 100% dedicated to the material despite it’s conventionality. A lot of these statements sound like insults, they probably are in any other context but the beauty of We Live In Time lies in its dedication to comfort food sentimentality, laughs, and emotion. This is a movie that will set the table for a happy date night with its eventual cinema release, nurse a Sunday hangover on Netflix when it hits streaming, and catch your eye in BBC 1’s Boxing Day film schedule in its inevitable UK TV debut. Maybe none of these things will happen but We Live In Time is the old-school, one-size-fits-all, Brit-Hollywood romance cheese-fest that I’ve seriously missed.

Not to say We Live In Time doesn’t try anything new, it adopts a non-linear storytelling style that begins at the discovery of Almut’s cancer, the film itself adopting Almut’s wish to appreciate every moment and then bounces back to the earlier stages in their relationship: the meet-cute, (which is classically charming while being ridiculous) the first date, the first argument, meeting the parents. All these moments are intertwined with the final months of Almut’s life as she and Tobias try to move forward in the best way possible. It’s a credit to the screenplay and the direction that this film doesn’t feel as convoluted as it could be but just purely cosy and it’s also a huge credit to Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh whose chemistry is the anchor and the living breath of this film; giving life to some pretty twee British humour (I wonder how the Weetabix and chocolate orange jokes play to an American audience) and adding some believability to the cheese, convention, and drama. The beats can be seen from a mile away but they still work just due to how much everyone seems to be giving towards this film.

We Live In Time is the type of film I wish we had more space for, as the space for grounded human stories shrinks, there’s often a pre-disposition for every film about normal situations to be geared for awards qualification which I find quite harmful culturally. We Live In Time isn’t trying to redefine the limits of Western cinema, it’s not trying to add another trophy to an actor’s awards cabinet, there is nothing in this film that is more important than comforting to its audience, entertaining them and maybe making them cry (but in a really “everything will be ok” way). When films have this much understanding of themselves, execute it to a tee, and are a pleasure to watch unfold with their increasingly earnest intentions, there’s not much I can criticise even if I don’t think it’s perfect, in fact, that even adds to its charm.