WE LIVE IN TIME – A Review by Cynthia Flores
There are quite a few films that have dealt with illness hitting a family. Some are amazing, and some are not so great. It is a tough topic to do well. It is the kind of story that has been told in ways that make the audience weep and sob. I always think of 1983’s classic Terms of Endearment when I think of films that make you cry out loud.
This new film We Live in Time, from director John Crowley, goes a different route. Don’t get me wrong, you will weep, but it goes deeper than that. This film tells the story of Almut (Florence Pugh), a well-renowned chef, and Tobias (Andrew Garfield), a newly divorced IT person at the Weetabix (A well-known British breakfast cereal) company. They have a great meet-cute, but it happens later in the film. The story is not told in a linear timeline. If you get up to go to the restroom during this film, you will miss something and will not be able to catch up.
The whole lifespan of their lives together consists of meeting, dating, falling in love, having a kid, getting sick, and life afterwards, all playing out in a smooth river of memories and snapshots that fire off seemingly unrelated. Somehow, it all works and makes this film unique in its approach to the subject.
The director uses the subtle cinematography of Stuart Bently to set the tone for time shifting between decades of their life together. Also to amazingly worship and study Almuts’ body in the different phases of her life. The film tastefully shows us Almut in various stages of undress. From moments of seduction both tender and fiery to being pregnant and finally to battling that body that betrays her with cancer and ultimately becomes her worst enemy.
There is a moment in this film where Florence Pugh as Almut spills her guts to her husband and bears her pain in the most vulnerable of ways. It may win her another Oscar nomination, but this time as a lead performer.
Andrew Garfield gets his time in the spotlight as the ever-loving Tobias. His performance as Almuts’ partner and father of her child is well-balanced and heartbreaking. These two performers bring these characters to life in such a way on the big screen that you feel like you are personally losing a close friend by the end of it.
Director John Crowley proved he could tell a woman’s story well when his 2015 film Brooklyn about an Irish woman emigrating to the US was nominated for three Oscars. His handling of this script by Nick Payne and the performances he got from his two leads are simply spectacular.
I give We Live in Time 5 stars. It’s a brilliant film that will make the best of lists this year. I would not be surprised if it got an Oscar nomination or two. It’s a must-see this season at a theater near you.
Directed by: John Crowley
Written by: Nick Payne
Rated: R for language, sexuality and nudity.
Selig Rating: 5 Stars
Running Time: 1 hr 47 min
Drama / Romance
Wide Theatrical Release: October 18th
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh, Grace Delaney, Lee Braithwaite
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.
4 Stars – Good movie/show
3 Stars – OK movie/show
2 Stars – Well, there was nothing else…
1 Star – Total waste of time.
