By Marianne Chatburn, Film and TV Sub-Editor
Fittingly released on New Year's Day, We Live in Time (2024) reminds us of the vicious passage of time in a way that is both gutting and beautiful. Nick Payne’s tale of love and loss borrows familiar romantic tropes and undercuts them with a bittersweet (or perhaps just bitter) reminder that nothing gold can stay. While it is easy to leave this film feeling deflated, there are so many elements to the story that make it heart-warming and worthwhile. If you haven’t seen this film yet, spoilers ahead.
Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield masterfully portray the loveable protagonists of Almut and Tobias, an unlikely but perfect pairing. Almut, an award-winning chef who has recently opened her own restaurant, and Tobias, a soon to be divorcee who works for Weetabix, find themselves experiencing the most unconventional of meet-cutes as Almut hits Tobias with her car while he is on his way to sign his divorce papers. In the unromantic location of a hospital corridor, John Crowley presents Almut and Tobias’s first conversation, as, after a jumble of chitchat, she confesses that she was the one behind the wheel. Against all odds, this makes for an adorable case of serendipity that only benefits from its absurdity.
Throughout the film, Crowley presents visually beautiful scenes within the couple’s idyllic home. We watch Almut collect eggs from her coop and use them to make a Douglas fir parfait that she demands Tobias tries, leaning over him as he wakes from his sleep. In a film in which the characters become so inevitably absorbed in the progression of Almut’s illness, Crowley makes sure we are introduced to them as they are without this veil of knowledge. We are afforded the opportunity to indulge in their happiness before we discover that these moments are limited. Perhaps the most beautiful moment in the film occurs when Almut gives birth in a petrol station bathroom and we watch on as Tobias and two members of staff try to kick the door down and frantically attempt some amateur midwifery. Almut and Tobias’ difficulty in conceiving and their process through IVF treatment makes the scene all the more moving – improved tenfold by the genuine ecstasy on Andrew Garfield’s face after his character delivers his baby.

Amongst the happy quirks, there exist many sharp edges to their relationship as they battle opposing ambitions, opinions, and priorities, all of which are enhanced by the looming presence of Almut’s cancer. Despite this, the story is not overwhelmed by its sadness as Crowley opts for a non-linear telling of events, distributing moments of despair amongst moments of joy and hope. Although this non-linear approach remains unpopular amongst audiences, it does aid the writer’s agenda in that we are forced to recognise how much can change with time, and how beautiful memories can prevail within times of suffering. That being said, I felt that this artistry came at the detriment of the viewing experience as it became difficult to truly connect with these characters amid the clunky and initially confusing timeline. Throughout the film I found myself wanting to sit in the scenes for just a little longer and get to know these characters just a little better.
Almut is the character who is most overtly aware of her position in time, as she desperately tries to create a glowing afterlife for herself in her daughter’s future memories. We see Almut’s grief present itself in these attempts to cement her legacy, as despite wanting her daughter to be able to proudly say ‘that’s my mum’, she admits to her husband that ultimately beneath it all she ‘can’t bear the thought of being forgotten’. While her character is extraordinarily skilled, it is moments like these that add realism to characters that would otherwise be a little too shiny and admirable. Pugh is wonderfully dynamic in this role as she portrays a character that thankfully breaks out of the one-dimensional ‘dead wife’ category that we see so often in film. She is not a martyr but a flawed and complex person, and one that is more loveable as a result.

Garfield is equally as incredible as Pugh in breathing life into his character, complimenting Almut’s grit with Tobias’ sensitivity. While Garfield’s performance cannot be faulted, the character himself is a little unconvincingly cheery and could have done with a bit more substance – or perhaps more of a fleshed out backstory. Either way, Pugh and Garfield inject these characters with the chemistry and comedy needed to make them worth rooting for.
Payne avoids writing a saccharine romance, opting instead for a story in which love is communicated in the most unexpected, and often unromantic, of ways. The title of the film and the arrangement of the story act as a constant reminder that these snippets of time are fleeting and finite, and that unlike similar stories such as ‘One Day’, our protagonists are very much aware of this. While I wish there was a little more screen-time afforded to the exploration of the characters themselves and the everyday nature of their relationship, I still found the their story captivating and and at times very endearing. Despite the heavy theme of impermanence, Crowley ends the film on a hopeful note as we watch Tobias and his daughter crack an egg the same way Almut taught him to years ago, emphasising her achievement of an afterlife in the characteristically menial but beautiful fashion of the film.
What did you think of 'We Live in Time'?