In 2015, director John Crowley explored the lives of young Irish immigrants in 1950s America with the astoundingly romantic "Brooklyn." Taking audiences through the experiences of Saoirse Ronan's demure and wide-eyed Eilis, the film triumphantly gave Ronan room to be both charming and agile in a performance that should have won her the Academy Award. Crowley seemed poised to take over where director Richard Curtis left off when it comes to profoundly romantic and emotionally tied characters.
Crowley returns to form in the romantic dramedy world with his newest venture examining what makes human beings tick in the new film, "We Live in Time." Swapping the very straightforward "Brooklyn" with nonlinear storytelling, Crowley puts a couple (Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh) in the center of a heartwarming and heartbreaking story that supersedes all notions of what it means to be faithful to one's partner. There is a lifetime within the window of the countdown clock that is "We Live in Time," but it's best judged by the weight of its performances rather than the way Crowley presents it to his adoring audience.
Garfield stars as Tobias, a breakfast cereal company representative facing an impending divorce and entirely down on his luck. Pugh plays Almut, a former figure skater igniting her passion for cooking by furthering a career as a chef. The two have a meet-cute of sorts when Almut accidentally hits Tobias with her car, resulting in the two rushing to a nearby hospital.
Soon after, Tobias starts courting Almut, and the two begin a love affair. They move in together, have sex, introduce friends into the mix, and become a full-fledged couple. But with any couple during the highs…some lows must be waiting around the corner. Unfortunately for Tobias and Almut, they are no different. Almut discovers she has cancer, throwing their relationship and future lives together for a loop.
But Crowley is no sucker when it comes to presenting the roller coaster elements of any bond, as he employs nonlinear narratives to show Tobias and Almut's relationship, health issues, and the eventual starting of a family. Time jumps around quite a bit in "We Live in Time," as the title of the film would suggest. So much so that it's difficult to keep track of where the central couple is in their relationship at any given moment, creating a bit of confusion.
One minute, Almut has cancer. In another minute, the two have a child. In another scene, he's meeting her for the first time, and next, she's giving birth in a gas station bathroom. Meant to be snapshots of their life together, these time jumps serve a complex purpose without explaining why Crowley used a nonlinear approach to tell this particular story.
Unlike "Sliding Doors," where it's apparent from the jump that Gwyneth Paltrow's character is experiencing life circumstances through two parallel timelines, "We Live in Time" doesn't offer itself as such at first. Clarity comes into focus when Almut's hairstyle changes due to her cancer treatment, but it's not initially obvious where we are in their relationship story.
Though the time jumps make a complicated premise much more puzzling, the two performances at the film's heart drive the story forward. Garfield and Pugh are magnificent in a romantic dramedy that leans heavily on their chemistry and dialogue rather than the devices that push and pull them through life's many adventures. They bring confidence and soul to characters that feel lived in, earning their humanity with every detail explored about them and giving credence to the struggles ahead.
The aforementioned bathroom birthing scene is a standout that should give Pugh even more credibility as an actor of the moment, solidifying her work as a comedic and dramatic force like her turns in "Little Women" and "Don't Worry Darling." For his part, Garfield gives charming and geekiness a new name in this film, providing a human being who gives sensitive and supportive men a good reputation. Their willingness to go the extra mile in defining their characters and moving across time with ease makes this movie's plot holes worth the watch.
"We Live in Time" isn't as solid of a story as Crowley's "Brooklyn," nor does it pretend to be. A two-hander and a gut punch of a sorrow-filled romantic film, it's a marvelous showcase for two actors at the top of their game traversing the line between "Autumn in New York" and "Love Story."
This is a tearjerker that plays with time and never lets you forget what's important: love, laughter, and the pursuit of living.