Another TIFF review for you. As I am of sound mind, I absolutely adore both Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, so both of them in a movie together??? Sign me all the way up. Throw in director John Crowley who made the magnificent Brooklyn, I'm even more in.
We Live in Time is a non-linear romance following Tobias (Garfield) and Almut (Pugh), bouncing from their early days as a couple, to the mid point of their relationship, to the present day where Almut is battling cancer. On the surface that sounds quite bleak, but man are they able to make something beautiful out of it. There is obviously an inherent sadness to this, but what I appreciated most about the story is how much levity was found. It'll try to make you cry but it is often an absolutely hilarious watch, and the opening night TIFF audience was great to watch it with as the whole theatre was constantly erupting with laughter. I won't spoil any moments, as not knowing what to expect only makes them funnier, but there are some scenes that are truly among the funniest of the year. For the most part it's a pretty basic "make you cry" type of movie, but those moments of levity make it a much more enjoyable watch compared to some films of this ilk that act essentially as misery porn (looking at you Life Itself).
The biggest thing that makes this work is the two leads. There aren't many other characters in the film, so almost all of the heavy lifting is on their shoulders and to no one's surprise they deliver. That levity I mentioned is largely thanks to how these two handle the subject matter, as their charm and chemistry makes for beautiful moments of banter. I honestly don't even know how much of it is them trying to be funny versus them just being naturally charming, as both are constantly the subjects of some of the funniest interviews out there. When things get serious though they keep on delivering, with Pugh nailing the balance of wanting to get better but not wanting to waste the time she has left, and Garfield offering a quietly heartbreaking study of someone not knowing what the right thing to do is to support her. It's a film that shows you the beauty and sadness and life, and I can't think of many better actors to do that than these two beautiful and incredibly talented performers.
Filmmaking wise there isn't much special here, there is some good lighting but on the whole the cinematography mostly just serves the plot. The music is also just kind of there, it isn't bad by any means but it's very typical for this type of film and often gets lost in the background. I also wish there was a bit more to the ending, I get where it's coming from but there's so much emotion packed into the last act that the final scene just leaves a bit to be desired for me.
So overall, I enjoyed this quite a bit. It's a pretty basic story told in a somewhat unique way, and anchored by two magnificent actors. The comedic elements were definitely what I loved most, but as a drama it also works pretty well. It's a strong 3.5/5 for me.
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