Andrew Garfield is one of my favorite working actors in Hollywood. I absolutely adore his work, with films like Tick, Tick… Boom! and The Social Network being amongst my favorite films I have ever seen. I remember hearing that after the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, he was taking a break from acting which, while well deserved, left me feeling glum. Shortly after that, he announced that he would be starring in We Live In Time, a romance film opposite Florence Pugh. As an ardent enthusiast of the genre and oft admirer of Garfield and Pugh, I found myself immensely excited for the film. Maybe more than most.
We Live in Time tells the story of Tobias (Garfield) and Almut (Pugh) a couple on the verge of marriage and with a young child living in England. Almut, a cancer survivor, learns that her disease has returned. Through a series of flashbacks and vignettes in the modern day, we learn the stories of Tobias and Almut; how they came together, how their relationship developed, the ups and downs and in-betweens of what a relationship is. Their story unfolds on screen with the audience in tow, learning more and more up to the very end.
For some, the non-linear timeline of the film may not work. And at times, it feels a bit messy. At other times, I found myself wishing to see the story play out in order instead of jumping around. But for the most part, I didn’t mind the non-linear nature of the film. It’s still very easy to follow, which often plagues movies that bounce around like this.
I knew almost immediately going into We Live in Time that something about it feels much more relatable than other films. Writer Nick Payne, who’s most known as a Tony-Nominated playwright, does an excellent job capturing the simplicities in life that the average, working-class person can relate to. From awkward conversations in crowded diners to romantically impassioned dates at the start of a new relationship, there is consistently some moment that someone can point to and say, “I’ve been there before”.
Most surprisingly, though, is that Payne’s script is incredibly funny. There’s some real great jokes and bits that work to keep you in the action but give a subtle respite from the other heavy emotions. On surprisingly several occasions, my theater laughed out loud to jokes or little moments in the film. It mostly worked for me, but some instances, like when Almut gives birth in a gas station bathroom, are played up for laughs but drag on too long that it ends up taking away a bit from the end product.
Director John Crowley, most known for 2015’s Brooklyn which helped launch Saiorse Ronan into stardom, takes tremendous care in shooting the film in a simple way too. There’s no dazzling skylines or huge mansions. Just a small town feel that keeps the focus on the story of Tobias and Almut. Instead, there’s long, impassioned gazes and powerfully poignant arguments that showcase the good and bad of what a relationship brings.
I could delve even more into the technical aspects of the film, how this shot impressed me or how the sound design captured the film’s intended simplicity. But that’s not what this story is about, nor would it do justice to drone on about that. In reality, the true stars of We Live in Time are Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. There’s a chemistry about their performances that I haven’t seen in quite some time. I could see it just in the press tour that the two would do together. There is a true-to-life feel that they exude.
I believed for every second that Almut and Tobias would be a couple I’d meet at a corporate mixer who live an everyday life just like the rest of us. It’s a magnificent testament to the skills of Pugh and Garfield. It’s not an easy feat to convincingly play a couple through every stage of their relationship, so I give them immense credit.
Final Thoughts
I love so much about We Live in Time. It’s such an impressively real portrayal of love and life between two everyday people. It may seem ordinary, but that’s what makes it extraordinary. It’s the relatability that makes it successful. That and incredible performances make this movie one of the best of 2024.
