4.5 out of 5 stars 

As one of the Scribe’s resident film majors, you can imagine my excitement when our lovely Features editor unlocked my News shackles and offered me the opportunity to write a movie review. 

And not just any movie review, but a review for A24’s newest romantic dramedy, “We Live in Time,” directed by John Crowley and written by Nick Payne. As both a huge A24 fan and a self-proclaimed rom-com expert, I was chomping at the bit to write this review.  

“We Live in Time” follows Almut (Florence Pugh), an ambitious chef, and Tobias (Andrew Garfield), a cereal-company employee and recent divorcé, through their relationship and Almut’s battle with ovarian cancer.  

If you know anything about A24 as a production company, you know that they love their ambitious plots and darker themes, so I knew this was not going to be a run-of-the-mill romance movie. The film differentiates itself from any other romantic tearjerker in its narrative structure. The story is tastefully told in a non-linear fashion, adding an impactful layer that saves it from becoming just another sob story. 

Despite being an alternative take on a romance film, my itch to watch a good rom com was thoroughly scratched. The film features all the ingredients for a romantic comedy. There’s a unique meet cute (the couple meet after Almut hits Tobias with her car as he’s walking back to his hotel to sign divorce papers) and the leads have great chemistry, although I am of the opinion that Florence Pugh can have chemistry with anyone (see Harry Styles in “Don’t Worry Darling”). But pair her with the always charming Andrew Garfield, and I was giggling and kicking my feet. 

Sometimes I feel films told out of chronological order become more about challenging the audience to piece the puzzle together than about good storytelling, and this can become gimmicky and tiring very quickly. ‘We Live in Time” avoided that trap. It was never very difficult to tell which stage of the relationship we were in, thanks in large part to Almut’s distinctive haircuts throughout the film. 

The decision to tell the story out of order makes the movie less about the lives of two relatively normal people and more about the couple valuing their time together through the ups and downs of life, reminding us of our finite existence on this planet. 

Aesthetically, the movie feels very quaint and cozy. Much of it takes place against the backdrop of a cute English farmhouse. Most of the movie’s visuals are very warm and comforting, contrasting nicely against the cooler, more drab, dramatic scenes. The cinematography is nothing revolutionary, which I think was a smart choice — let the film’s strongest point, the story, speak for itself. 

My only critique is that the ending felt unsatisfying. One of the final scenes ventured into a sort of surrealism that felt out of place in the otherwise grounded and hyper realistic nature of the film.  

Ending aside, if you need a reminder about the importance of spending our precious time with good people, or just to laugh and shed a few tears, this movie is for you. 

“We Live in Time.” Photo courtesy of IMDb.