Garfield and Pugh have chemistry in this sweet and funny romance.
“We Live in Time” is directed by John Crowley, who is best known for making “Brooklyn” and “Intermission.” A part of me is surprised that Richard Curtis had nothing to do with this British romantic comedy-drama, because it does have elements reminding us of his films. There are two leading lovers (played authentically by Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh), an emotional aspect that has pathos, and its comic relief side that never condescends anyone or anything.
Last week, Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth were the only good things about the Netflix romance “Lonely Planet,” which never really elevated on their chemistry or story. And the thing is Dern played a writer, while Hemsworth was the boyfriend of a writer. I just felt it was a nothing special movie (even “It Ends with Us” had more passion and emotions than that), but “We Live in Time,” under the distribution of A24, is something special. In fact, this has more courage than the allegedly appealing Netflix romances we’ve been getting lately. It uses the title to express what happens during the main couple’s course of a decade, told in non-linear format about how they fell in love and found the joy and drama in their lives.
Garfield plays Tobias, who survives a car accident, while Florence Pugh plays Almut, the woman who accidentally hit him. He is a Weetabix representative, while she is a European cuisine chef and restaurant owner. As their relationship takes off, they both contemplate on having kids, even though they have yet to marry, and after many tries, they’re lucky to have a little girl named Ella (Grace Delaney). The movie’s ambition regards Almut and her commis Jade (Lee Braithwaite) representing the U.K. in the cooking competition known as the Bocuse d’Or. And the drama regards Almut’s ovarian cancer and how she plans on dealing with it.
In Crowley’s last film “The Goldfinch,” the drama was represented like a dreadful hack job. But in his new film “We Live in Time,” he delivers with characters we’re interested in getting to know, and the non-linear storyline-written brilliantly by Nick Payne (“The Sense of an Ending”)-allows us to see the humor and pathos balanced without us missing the first part of the film. Let’s try it in this format. And even though it takes a while for my mind to process its development, it still kept me going and wanting to see how this love story will turn out.
I know it sounds corny the way I said that, but I like romances that try different things or, at least, have old fashioned styles. Garfield and Pugh both have magnetism in their performances and their characters, because they do have goals and dreams, but they also have personalities and turmoil within their life journey. The arguments are more sincere and convincing than some recent cliched and annoying ones, and their first encounter isn’t typical stuff. They don’t need to keep bumping into each other (which is how the first episode of “Bewitched” began); they need to let life surprise them.
When you feel bad for the characters’ drama, you either need time to digest or you represent your emotions internally. When you manage to find some levity, you deserve a good laugh. And when you see how Crowley directs the romance, the pathos, the cooking contest, and the joys of life, you know he has his own ways of presenting them.
And I double checked. Curtis still has nothing to do with “We Live in Time.” But Benedict Cumberbatch is an executive producer. A little off topic, but still good enough for me.
Expanding in Theaters This Friday