I am not sure the film “We Live in Time” lives in time as much as it does jump in time. I went in knowing that the film spans a decade, but the first fifteen minutes jumping between time periods may be a tad much. Particularly when the scenes are only a few minutes long. It takes a bit of untangling to determine the order of events. That being said, the time jumps do even out across the film and you get more consistency. I just don’t personally enjoy thinking so hard while watching a movie.
The Cast
Protagonist Almut, played by Florence Pugh, is a chef that could rival that of Jeremey Allen White in “The Bear,” i.e. a fixation on small plates and tiny utensils to decorate them. What I love about Pugh is this woman has range. I noticed her first in “Little Women” which was a period piece. Then she had me (and all pop culture sites) spun up in the thriller/drama “Don’t Worry Darling.” Apparently, she knocked it out in “Oppenheimer” (I was too busy watching “Barbie”). Point is, if there’s a Florence Pugh movie, you’ll find me buying a ticket. Even if I end up hating the main character – spoiler alert, that’s what happened in this film.
Back to the dynamic duo. Opposite of my feelings for Florence Pugh is the male lead; Tobias is played by a “Spider-Man” lead Andrew Garfield. Sorry to disappoint Marvel fans, but I have not watched “Spider-Man” in two decades. Honestly though, I disappointed myself with this one because I have been SLEEPING on Andrew Garfield. He is absolutely charming. I felt his every thought throughout the movie. His facial expressions, the gestures, I understood him.
The Plot
The focus of the film was clearly on Almut. They hit you in the first ten minutes (and in the trailer so don’t come at me) with Almut having cancer. However, the cancer diagnosis is not the only major contributor in the plot line, which I appreciate. It’s also about Almut’s stance on children, her ambitions, and Tobais’ constant need to make sense of things now.
There is also some head scratching humor sprinkled in. For instance, Almut and Tobias meet because she accidentally hospitalizes him when she hits him with her car. Clearly, we are not in America. This movie was filmed in England where apparently people don’t want to sue you after running them over, but they do want to date you.
We also have Tobais going through a box of Almut’s memories, which between this film and the Netflix RomCom “Nobody Wants This” has me wanting to dial up every ex boyfriend who called me crazy and let them know that I was totally normal.
If you want to watch a movie filled with hard conversations and a complex female lead, this is for you! I also learned the best way to crack an egg, so be on the lookout for that fun tip. All in all, I walked away with some good reminders on how I want to live in my life, day to day.
Movie Times: Click here
Genre: Drama and Romance
Director: John Crowley
Actors: Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh, Grace Delaney
Running Time: 1h 44m
Rating: Rated R for language, sexuality and nudity.
