We Live in Time Review

We Live in Time is a romantic dramedy that stars two main British actors and focuses on the highs and lows of a young couple.

Tobias Durand (Andrew Garfield) and Almut Brühl (Florence Pugh) meet after Almut runs Tobias over when he tries to retrieve a chocolate orange. The pair find they have a spark and enter into a committed relationship, but face challenges such as a tough pregnancy, a cancer diagnosis, and Almut’s career ambitions.

We Live in Time premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was picked up by A24 for the US release. StudioCanal released it in many other territories. It was a film that had two great actors and had a lot of wit and charm, even when it explored heavier subject matter. It had all the ingredients to be a compelling film.

Pugh and Garfield are fantastic actors and they made for a believable couple at different stages of their romances, from their awkward meet-cute at the hospital to the pair having their first child, to Almut’s cancer diagnosis and treatment. Garfield had an awkward nerdiness to his character. He was always making notes, methodical, and asked questions, but he was also the traditional romantic out of the pair who wanted to settle down and have kids. Almut was a determined character who wanted to succeed as a chef and had a different viewpoint because she asked if it was better not to have chemotherapy and have six months of living or experience the pain of treatment and risk failing. They did make for a great onscreen couple.

The actors were armed with some terrific writing. The film was written by Nick Payne whose previous film was The Last Letter from Your Lover which was a cosy romance. Payne came up with some hilarious lines and situations and found humour in serious situations like the couple discussing how to tell their daughter Almut has cancer or the unexpected challenges of giving birth. We Live in Time was a genuinely funny film that felt like a Richard Curtis rom-com if he decided to insert some heavier themes into them. About Time could be the closest comparison since the 2013 film was willing to explore some more serious issues. We Live in Time was a film that was unashamedly British since there were references to British items and culture like Weetabix, Terry’s Chocolate Oranges, and Jaffa Cakes.

Whilst We Live in Time explored some serious issues, these were handled in a sanctified manner. The worst effects of Almut’s cancer were shaving her head and being sick a few times because of the chemo. The film showed she was still capable of working for long hours in a professional kitchen and competing in an intense cooking competition. Different conversions were skipped over to prevent the film from getting too real and dour.

We Live in Time was told in a non-linear style. It went back and forth to different events. It wasn’t a simple narrative of courtship, pregnancy, and cancer. There’s a debate about whether this storytelling approach was necessary. On one hand, it did seem unnecessary since this was a straightforward story and this was done to elevate the film. On the other hand, the non-linear structure did avoid a potential trap since the film could have started as a light-hearted comedy and turned into a melodrama in the second half. We Live in Time was able to spread its comedy and drama more evenly across the run time.

This non-linear approach made We Live in Time feel like an adaptation of Ian McEwan’s work. Films like Atonement and On Chesil Beach bounced back and forth across a timeline and showed different perspectives. I did think We Live in Time was an adaptation and that’s why it was a non-linear film, but nope, it was an original work.

It was a film that wanted to walk between the lines of being accessible and prestigious. It was a funny film that can appeal to a mainstream audience, especially in the UK, and it was elevated by the talents of its two leads.