John Crowley’s “We Live in Time” is the newest release from critically acclaimed studio A24 and is a take on one of the most popular genres in modern cinema, that genre being romantic dramas.
The film tackles the concept balancing the many opportunities life throws at us while feeling like you are on a timer. This idea is portrayed through a tragic love, having one of the main characters in the relationship get cancer and only having a set amount of time to live.
The characters Almut (Florence Pugh) and Tobias (Andrew Garfield) are a couple that go through many ups and downs throughout their relationship. From meeting after Almut runs over Tobias in her car, unconventional birth locations, and dealing with terminal illness. The film highlights the real struggles of a relationship and does not sugar coat things the way most romance films do.
The main thing that the film did differently than most others in the genre is the way the story was told, nonlinearly. The story is given to the audience out of order instead of from start to finish like most stories tend to go. It added much intrigue by allowing watchers to see things that happen later in the relationship and wanting to see how it started or how things got to what they are later.
Pugh and Garfield gave a phenomenal performance with chemistry so good that at some points made me forget I was watching a movie. They are able to accurately portray what a relationship doomed to end is really like as we watch them both learn to accept how to live in the moment and treat every day as if it is the last.
Crowley hit it out of the park and the film takes the audience through the beauty of life and shows you how to embrace the world around you as it is and to understand that life does not last forever. Ultimately, we are all living in time and this film shows you how Almut and Tobias tragically and beautifully accept this and continue to love each other through it all.