“We Live in Time” is a tear-jerking masterpiece that is going down as one the best romance movies ever.
A24 released the film on Oct. 11 which follows the love story of Almut (Florence Pugh), a renowned chef and restaurant owner, and Tobias (Andrew Garfield), a Weetabix employee.
At the start of the film, Almut and Tobias are shocked by the news of her ovarian cancer relapse.
The film does an exceptional job of portraying the life of someone battling cancer because it shows the ups and downs and the drastic change life takes.
Almut finds herself going through treatment and Pugh was able to portray this character in a very realistic manner, showcasing the ups and downs of cancer.
It opens with Almut’s cancer diagnosis but switches back and forth to the day they met and began their relationship, highlighting both the good and bad moments, including and when they welcomed their daughter, Ella (Grace Delaney).
Surprisingly, I was able to understand the film despite an out-of-order sequence.
The sequence allowed the audience to submerge themselves in the story in a personal way because we] witness heart-breaking moments that allow us to connect with the characters.
As Almut battles her cancer diagnosis, the film is mostly filled with somber moments as it is expected given the heavy topic.
There are moments when Almut can't work as a chef because she is sick, and she throws up and feels ill most of the time.
This is something I appreciated because I could tell Pugh put a lot of commitment into her role because she portrayed her character well.
Garfield also did an amazing job at playing the role of someone who is experiencing the effects of cancer through his spouse.
Garfield’s irresistible charm that I remember from his Spider-Man movies was present in this film in the sweetest way.
Tobias showed his support and worry for Almut throughout the movie which is something that I like because he balanced the somberness of the film with his charisma.
Through seeing Almut persevere despite her diagnosis, I was able to see the rawest moment of a person desiring to do something when they physically cannot and this was heartbreaking.
There is a moment of ultimate surrender and nostalgia in a film like this, audiences can sense what could occur next because it not only started to feel like the end of the movie, but also the end of her battle.
At this point, I couldn’t hold back my tears because it was hard to see that after a long and strenuous battle, both physical and emotional, the story was coming to an end in the saddest possible way.
The story became a slow goodbye and had me holding back tears, not just for Almut but for her small family.
In one of the closing scenes, Almut, Tobias and Ella go to a figure skating rink.
It is a heart-wrenching scene where they are all skating together, but then Almut lets go, skates off on her own and stands in the middle of the rink.
She raises her hand with a smile on her face and waves a final goodbye to the screen, putting the audience in Tobias and Ella’s place and makes us live this moment.
Throughout this film, Garfield and Pugh’s chemistry transcended from the screen and I was rooting for this couple the whole time.
Both did an exceptional job and I was happy to see them on the screen together.
Because of Pugh’s realistic portrayal of a person with cancer, I was able to immerse myself in the film and made it even more emotional for me.
Everything about this film, from the plot to the actors' performances made me cry. At the same time, it allowed me to experience this story along with the characters in a personal way and see that every minute of life counts.
