Directed by: John Crowley
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh, Adam James, Grace Delaney
We Live in Time takes us on an unconventional romance between Tobias (Garfield) and Almut (Pugh) after Almut hits Tobias with a car. It sure was a violent, shocking strike, but all is forgiven and the two engage in a years-long relationship in which Almut battles cancer twice. The second diagnosis causes Almut to ask Tobias a question with no correct answer. Do they put Almut through one year of chemo hell with no certainty that the cancer will remit? Or live the rest of her life treatment-free and try to enjoy the moments, which may last roughly six months? Tobias surely had to think long and hard about this, and who could blame him?
Tobias and Almut are nice enough people, but not memorable like Oliver and Jenny from Love Story, which is similar in story arc to We Live in Time, but more impactful. Garfield and Pugh invest as much into these people as they can, and it's their performances that almost carry the movie over the finish line. However, I watched We Live in Time and didn't feel there was much conflict or much to play against. There is a brief interlude in which the two break up temporarily over Tobias' desire to have children, but that feels tacked on, and the reunion seems just as arbitrary.
Almut, a restaurant owner, also secretly engages in rehearsals for a prestigious European chef competition in place of her treatments, which also lacks a satisfying emotional payoff, even though it really tries to have one. The entire movie is an exercise in a near-miss emotional experience.
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