Directed By John Crowley

Starring – Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh, Grace Delaney

The Plot – Almut (Pugh) and Tobias (Garfield) are brought together in a surprise encounter that changes their lives. Through snapshots of their life together, falling for each other, building a home, becoming a family, a difficult truth is revealed that rocks their very foundation. As they embark on a path challenged by the limits of time, they learn to cherish each moment of the unconventional route their love story has taken, in filmmaker John Crowley’s decade-spanning, deeply moving romance.

Rated R for adult language, sexuality and nudity.

We Live In Time | Official Trailer HD | A24 (youtube.com)

POSITIVES

The love between two people can transcend space and time, and through the broad strokes of affection and even empathy that Crowley invests firmly to his film, we attain a love story between two characters that effortlessly feels every bit believable as it does nourishingly charming, resulting in what is currently my favorite romantic drama of the cinematic calendar. There’s a lot of reasons for this appeal, but the first thing that shouldn’t be undersold is the film’s consistent dependency among humor, which not only effectively registers throughout characters dealing with their own unforeseen humilities, but also serves to balance the depth of the film’s dramatic muscle quite exceptionally, without downright sacrificing the magnitude of its stakes in circumstance. Crowley clearly feels a lot of confidence towards his material, and throughout unpredictable instances that test Almut and Tobias in ways that brandish humanity, the audience find relatability towards them in ways that takes their blossoming love miles across a decade of storytelling. It’s a basic concept that is explored nearly exceptionally in execution, zooming in and out of vital moments in the relationship of the couple, while speaking to such a universal language of conflict that nearly everybody watching can relate to. Crowley also effectively channels the urgency and spontaneity of life’s many cycles, with many suddenly sporadic developments in this story that constantly keep them and the audience on their toes throughout a momentous engagement. Considering I’m someone least compelled by the romance genre of movies, often for the kind of artificialities that often get the better of their execution, I found ‘We Live In Time’ to radiate an honesty and earnestness that maintained my interests, feeling like a warm hug that doesn’t require the desperation of manipulative and melodramatic aspects to appeal to its audience, instead opting for more of those quietly subdued moments of bond-building between two people who were so obviously born to be together. In addition, the film is every bit as beautiful looking as it is affectionately intoxicating, as cinematographer Stuart Bentley takes his biggest step forward, inspiring warmly radiant and intimately glowing photography that dreamily never withers on capturing the chemistry between these two people, especially during tastefully depicted love sequences that never felt gratuitous or shallow. Without getting overtly flashy with complimentary visuals in ways that distracts and detracts from the importance of the storytelling, Bentley occasionally musters a meaningful shot that creatively conjures the psychological feelings that these characters reserve themselves to express towards one another, often times resulting in us attaining an advantageous insight towards their development that the characters themselves are not even privy to. On top of this, despite a conflicting framing device that I have my own problems with, the pacing to the storytelling never seemed compromise as a result of so much abrupt editing, especially considering the events focused upon are the most meaningful to the couple’s duration, which continuously allow it to ride the waves of high points that are typically spread out during a script’s structure. It helps that so many of these events depicted emanate with an air of ambiguity to their sudden explorations, especially in a narrative with multiple timelines, but at 102 minutes of screen time, the film simply can’t afford to waste much time in the development of two people who spiritually are looking for the same things, and without flinching on the characterization or long-term conflicts, the film never rushes their developments or resolutions in ways that feel materialistic, using every ounce of its minutes to feed something integral to the dynamics of the material. Last but not least, the performances from the powerhouse duo of Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield are without question the single most distinguished ingredient to the movie’s favor, with an effortlessly lived-in brand of chemistry between them that frequently warms our hearts. Having seen the movie, I can’t imagine two people more perfect for these respective roles, especially in the little things like how they look and talk towards one another, but ultimately it’s the gravitas that each them play towards what this relationship truly requires to survive that is most impactful, resulting in two performances deserving of Academy praise. Garfield’s sensitivity and empathy are most aligned with the film’s most dominant tone, allowing him the loving enrichment to offer Almut reinforcement, or comical wits to play towards the film’s many awkwardly unpredictable moments, and Pugh soaks in as much of the movie’s spotlight as she rightfully deserves, with the physical and emotional pain of her character’s condition taking her through some truly complex motions throughout the interpretation of the audience, but never in ways that sacrifice the character’s integrity, in which Pugh supplants so much personality and control over the film’s attention. Considering the film focuses primarily on these two characters, there isn’t exactly room for supporting turns, but Pugh and Garfield are all that you will ever need in any film, and their bonding appeal made me want to live next door or be friends with these beautiful souls.

NEGATIVES

One aspect that I merely hinted at during the positives was the movie’s non-linear framing device to its storytelling that often saw us exploring various periods in the decade of this couple, all with spontaneous shifts in transitions that at least early in the film required time to place exactly where I was in the narrative. This does eventually clear up a little as the story progresses, and we get more definition to both the identity of the characters and key moments in their lives, but during the opening act of the movie, I found myself confused with certain elements of one tier not matching up to something from another one, and while I understand the intention was to garner as many of these uncorrelated moments to build a narrative for their growing bond towards one another, I think it overcomplicates the cohesiveness and consistency of the storytelling, which will undoubtedly throw some audiences off towards grasping onto the clarity and sequential order of these prominent moments. Beyond the decision to use a non-linear device, the only other issue that bothered me were the closing moments of the film, which doesn’t reach as sternly for the jugular as a movie with this kind of material rightfully could’ve. Without spoiling anything, I can commend Crowley’s approach to not exploit the weakly vulnerable for melodramatic rendering, but the resolution here falls a bit too flat as an afterthought to leave me overwhelmed by triumph or tragedy, during the one key moment where it undoubtedly should’ve went over-the-top in forcing audiences to reach for the tissues.

OVERALL
‘We Live in Time’, like the best romantic dramas currently, excels in elevating a simplistic idea to exceptional form, in the clutches of an invigorating romance between two people who ride life’s unceremonious waves through a decade of spiritual growth. With two irresistible turns from Garfield and Pugh that has audiences falling in love with them, the film is able to entertain and empathize simultaneously, despite the growing pains of a non-linear form of storytelling that overcomplicates and muddles the initial execution, leaving plenty of time for reflection on a life made better because they did it together.

My Grade: 8/10 or B+