Directed by John Crowley, We Live in Time follows Almut (Florence Pugh) and Tobias (Andrew Garfield) who are brought together by a surprise encounter that changes their lives. As they embark on a path challenged by the limits of time, they learn to cherish each moment of their unconventional love story.
Ever since it was first announced in March 2023 that a film was being made starring two of my favorites, Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield, it became one of my most anticipated projects that I was eagerly wanting to see, mainly because of the two leads and the premise that promised an emotional but powerful story. I got the chance to see the film at a special early screening this weekend and I went in with excitement, but after seeing the film in its entirety I ended up walking out as an emotionally broken mess.
We Live in Time is a perfect love story told through an amazingly crafted nonlinear narrative that has a beautiful balance of humor and genuine emotion that feels completely natural and never felt fake in the slightest. Director John Crowley created a very moving story about the unbounded bond between a couple navigating difficult choices, as well as dealing with the fragility and beauty of life. It is not aiming to be a sad film, even though some parts of it are extremely sad to watch, but it instead aims to deliver a beautiful and bold love story that has a lot to teach, as well as remind us of the people in life who will always be there for you no matter what.
Let’s begin with the cast, starting off with Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield who give career-defining performances that completely floored me. Most people seeing this film are likely coming in just for them and they will be satisfied by the truly phenomenal performances they both deliver together. Florence Pugh absolutely dominates as the fiercely independent yet compassionate Almut, resulting in what I consider to be her best performance to date. Florence displays a huge range of emotions throughout this film that she pulls off beautifully and makes us feel for her character through all the points of her life both good and bad. When she feels joy you feel joyful with her. When she is in pain or is in a deep state of sadness you feel instant sympathy as well as share her feelings in the moment. When she is being loving you feel immense warmth by her voice and actions. Her performance really hit me close to my heart, especially for how much her character reminded me of my own late mother who was a fighter and magnificent artist like Almut is.
Andrew Garfield delivers a very moving performance as the supportive and charming Tobias. Garfield has proven many times in the past that he is capable of delivering powerful emotional moments and that is exactly what he brings here with his character as he is on a journey of true unconditional love with Almut through all the great trials life throws at them. But no matter the obstacles they face Tobias is always there trying to be the best he can possibly be for Almut.
Together the chemistry of Florence and Andrew is electrifying; from the first moment they are on screen together you instantly believe them as a real couple and not just two cast members pretending to be a couple. You could also see how immensely comfortable the two of them are with each other in this film with the amount of very intimate scenes they share that will definitely surprise people. You can feel true love just radiating off of them even when they go through the various trials of life.
The supporting cast of this film was also excellent but they are obviously overshadowed by the powerhouse performances of Florence and Andrew. One supporting performance that I will highlight is Lee Braithwaite as Jade. They play an absolutely awesome supporting character in this film who may only appear in small doses but makes such an impact every time they are on screen.
This film doesn’t follow the traditional path of most romance stories as it is instead written as a nonlinear narrative where it jumps between various points in time of the relationship of the main couple. This kind of narrative approach is not easy to do, especially for this kind of film, but it is executed flawlessly and flows smoothly despite the multiple jumps back and forth to specific points in time. Even with the jumps the emotions and tone of the film are handled with great care and consistency throughout, making it feel like a realistic love story that has all sorts of ups and downs that many people can relate to.
There are plenty of great themes related to relationships and time layered within the film that I think will be touching to a lot of people and give a firm reminder to never take our loved ones for granted. While this film is super emotional throughout it can also be surprisingly very funny in a lot of places, making it feel a bit like a romantic comedy that has immense heart put into it. There were a number of times I was laughing throughout the film but the biggest laughs I had definitely came from the childbirth scene. I won’t give too much away about it but everything about this scene was perfect, from the surprising setup to the hilarious dialogue between cast members, all leading up to a truly beautiful moment that made me feel immense joy for how heartfelt it was.
The humor, the romance, and emotional rollercoaster moments of this film all feel completely natural thanks largely to the writing and the performances, making this film feel like such a breath of fresh air compared to most other romantic drama films these days that always feel unnatural or extremely predictable. Never once throughout this film did I feel that it was trying to force emotions out of me even when it came to showing some of the heavy elements early on through the nonlinear narrative. Everything was perfectly balanced and executed in the narrative, making this probably one of my favorite romantic drama films that I have seen in years.
On a technical level, this film looks absolutely beautiful, with lovely cinematography, stellar editing, cozy sets, and very moving music provided by composer Bryce Dessner. The visuals of this film match the tone as it goes through all the emotions and you can even see a difference in the feel of everything with the various visual differences between the different points of time this film jumps between.
This film has a feeling of warmth to it, through both its narrative and its technical elements, that gives a comforting feeling to all who watch it without the need for fancy gimmicks or styles. This film is guaranteed to make many people cry but it will also make you laugh, feel joy, and feel the warmth of love from a love story that is perfectly crafted in every way possible. If you ever get the chance to see it in theaters when it becomes available in its limited release and potential wide release, go for it. This is a beautiful love story with two phenomenal cast members that you do not want to miss. I’m going to give We Live in Time an A+ = 100.
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