Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for “We Live in Time.”
The latest work to join A24’s slate of emotional dramas is John Crowley’s “We Live in Time.” The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 6, followed by a limited theatrical release on Oct. 11 and a wider release on Oct. 18.
The film follows cereal company tech worker Tobias Durand (Andrew Garfield) and Anglo-Bavarian restaurateur and chef Almut Brühl (Florence Pugh) from their unlikely and catastrophic meeting to their poignant final moments together. Told in a non-linear progression, Tobias and Almut’s story is manifested through scenes of their last months together, with the biggest milestones of their relationship scattered throughout.
Tobias and Almut’s biggest hurdle is something entirely out of their control when Almut is diagnosed with ovarian cancer just months into their relationship. She has a partial hysterectomy and is in remission for the next few years as they raise their long-awaited daughter Ella (Grace Delaney). The film opens with Almut learning that her cancer has returned, now at stage 3, and this second bout is what guides the majority of the story.
In some ways, “We Live in Time” is precisely a classic cancer story. In others, it is the exact opposite.
Viewers get an in-depth look at some of the more heart-wrenching aspects of undergoing cancer treatment: the bruises from IV lines, the hair loss, the vomiting, the pain. Almut is put through the wringer throughout her treatment and it is a dreadful sight. Seeing her in such a vulnerable position is so jarring and gruesome that viewers may be tempted to look away at times. However, such a close look at the negative aspects of life adds to the strength of this movie: its borderline invasiveness and unwavering intimacy.
Nonetheless, Almut’s cancer experience is as joyous as she desires it to be. Upon her diagnosis, she strongly considers forgoing treatment altogether. She would rather live the last months of her life to the fullest than endure a year of suffering for a future that is not even guaranteed.
Despite previously feeling somewhat apathetic about the concept of marriage, Almut happily accepts Tobias’ heartfelt proposal. They spend their free days and nights together in bliss, just because they can. They tell their daughter about Almut’s cancer over the most whimsical of meals — a milkshake dinner — and consider getting a dog to help her cope in the event of Almut’s death. Almut even makes the righteously selfish choice to take what may be her last chance for critical acclaim in her career by training for the Bocuse d’Or – a world-renowned cooking competition.
While Almut’s plan of action stays on course for a few months, her illness eventually becomes an undeniable burden on her everyday life.
While Almut’s death is not shown on screen, it is heavily implied that she succumbs to cancer shortly after the Bocuse d’Or. Although it may be a departure from the film’s pattern of extreme intimacy, the choice to omit this event from the story indicates that Almut’s dying wish may have come true; she isn’t just someone’s dead mom.
Almut’s legacy both is and is not her death. By the end of the film, it is clear that her absence is sorely felt, but her presence goes off on an incredibly high note. While we never learn the results of the competition — Almut takes Tobias and Ella ice skating before judging commences — the lesson taken from this omission is that the results never mattered in the first place.
A film that covers such a melancholy set of topics — ranging from death to fertility struggles to cancer — wouldn’t normally be so lovely to watch, but “We Live in Time” is just that. The film is so visually comforting and excellently cast that it is a nearly flawless movie.
Casting two Academy Award nominees to play romantic leads is a perfect recipe for success. Pugh and Garfield have such excellent chemistry that Almut and Tobias’ love story is instantly electric. Both of these actors keeping their natural English accents allows them to bring an additional layer of authenticity to the roles.
The film focuses on interiority to the most extreme level without explicitly depicting the characters’ inner thoughts. Garfield and Pugh masterfully convey emotion visually by making their characters exceptional nonverbal communicators both to each other and to the audience.
Oddly enough, this story is bookended by eggs. The only lesson that Almut explicitly teaches Tobias is how to properly crack an egg. We see Almut’s method during the first morning they spend after getting together, then late in her pregnancy with a soft scrambled egg breakfast. We see it in the morning when Almut is diagnosed again in the opening scene and finally, when Tobias teaches Ella precisely what Almut taught him all those years ago.
There is also the tragic irony that Almut suffers through two bouts of ovarian cancer. She is indelibly changed by her own egg-producing organ with her first diagnosis, and eventually fully destroyed by its recurrence.
The egg motif, albeit a bit strange, has a larger purpose. It enforces the message that endings do not always have to signify the end. An egg must be broken to produce something new, be it breakfast or a baby bird, so it is an apt metaphor for this story.
By the end of the film, Tobias and Almut’s story does not continue in the way they once knew it, but a new chapter has begun. Tobias and Ella continue to live in the present, housed by the family’s English countryside cottage with a dog and a chicken coop in the backyard. In time, we see that Almut lives on in the little lessons she imparted to her family, including, but not limited to, the proper way to crack an egg.
While “We Live in Time” is one of the most heartbreaking romances released in recent years, it is still a beautiful example of intimate filmmaking, and for that reason, it is a must-see. The themes explored in the film are not particularly unique, but its mundanity is what makes its message so universally applicable and thus universally enjoyable.
Camille Robinson is an Arts & Entertainment Intern for the fall 2024 quarter. They can be reached at camilllr@uci.edu.
Edited by Alaina Retodo.
