“We Live in Time,” directed by John Crowley, tells the story of a young Bavarian fusion chef named Almut (Florence Pugh) and a Weetabix representative named Tobias (Andrew Garfield) as they navigate Almut’s cancer diagnosis.
Although the story is marketed as a romance, the individual characters are just as intriguing and tell the audience so much more about Tobias and Almut's relationship than the scenes of them together could.
Pugh plays the headstrong, devoted-to-her-work, modern feminist woman Almut, and Garfield plays the soft-spoken, wholesome, deeply-in-love Tobias, who is scared of getting his heart broken.
The main takeaway of this film is the life lessons these differing personalities learn under the pressure of time.
The film opens with an energy-filled Almut going on a run and returning home to make a rosemary butter that she asks a sleeping and groggy Tobias to try. It then cuts to the scene of her starting to undergo contractions while pregnant before cutting again to the scene of Almut and Tobias listening to the doctor diagnose her with stage 3 ovarian cancer.
This sets the tone for the rest of the film, and several life lessons, some subtle and others more obvious, can be noticed in this film. Tobias becomes aware of his constant worry about the future and realizes the value of living in the present moment. Almut soon realizes the value of spending her last few moments with her loving family.
Crowley does a stunning job of creating two very different characters who audiences can equally empathize with.
Almut realizes that, despite her will, she cannot achieve everything in the finite amount of time she has left. Simultaneously, Tobias learns the value of living in the moment rather than worrying about the future.
Almut is a character to whom many can relate. Believing she can do everything, she stretches herself thin and continues to work in her restaurant and take care of her daughter despite tiredness from treatment. When given the opportunity, she joins the world-famous, highly-esteemed cooking competition called the Bocuse d’Or as her last hurrah.
However, as audiences might assume, this does not go as smoothly as she had hoped. Almut struggles to balance her dream of participating in the Bocuse d’Or with caring for herself and her family.
Tobias is the opposite. He is soft-spoken and his only life dream is a family. He is a loyal supporter of Almut who will make audiences fall in love with yet another one of Andrew Garfield’s characters.
Throughout the film, conflict arises as Tobias is so in love with Almut that he just wants her to get better and prioritize their family. Her constant need to experience and achieve things, constantly causes him to wonder why their family is not a good enough accomplishment for Almut.
Tobias’ only wish after her diagnosis is for them to be married – despite their daughter and house together, they have yet to officially tie the knot. While she originally says yes, believing she can have the wedding and participate in the Bocuse d’Or, she is soon faced with harsh reality and realizes she must choose one.
Almut and Tobias’ love story is far from a typical romantic fairytale, but audiences will swoon at the love they have for each other. The characters display real, complex traits that people display when first falling into those vulnerable stages of love.
This stunning film will leave audiences with a newfound sense of inspiration and meaning in life – and teach them the proper way to crack an egg.
This article was edited by Alfie Pritchard, Marina Zaczkiewicz and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Emma Brown and Ariana Kavoossi.
