When I saw that the film “We Live in Time,” starring Andrew Garfield as Tobias Durand and Florence Pugh playing Almut Brüh, was coming out in theaters on Oct. 18, I did not intend to see it. From what I had seen and heard, it was a sad cancer film. And to most people, I’m sure it was just that. But not to me.
In all honesty, I had no intention of seeing the film. The only actual promotion I saw of it was the viral photo of the crazy-looking carousel horse.
But other than that, the only other information I knew about the movie was that it was sad and emotional, leaving many people sobbing as they left theaters. I was not one of those people.
However, my friend Maddie convinced me to see it because she’s trying to see as many A24 films as possible and because I am a Garfield fan. We both left the theater angry and disappointed. Mostly angry.
Throughout the movie, we were both confused about the timeline. “We Live in Time” had a nonlinear timeline, jumping from the couple’s first meeting to them having a whole child together.
It made the film partly confusing at points, as I was unsure where I was in the timeline. It did make the movie enjoyable at times, seeing Almut share the news of her restaurant opening soon to it being a booming success, but it was still confusing as a whole.
Almut and Tobias are shown to have met after she hit him with her car as he was on his way to his hotel after buying a pen to sign his divorce papers from his current wife.
As an apology for hitting him with her car, Almut treated him to some food at an all-night diner and later a table for him and his wife on the restaurant’s opening night.
When Tobias shows up alone on the opening night, he thoroughly enjoys the food Almut serves, and she later comes to join him at his table. Long story short, they end up going to her place to have a one-night stand, starting their love affair.
Later in the film, on their ride back home after Almut’s diagnosis, she receives a text from her old colleague asking her to compete in Bocuse d’Or, one of the most prestigious cooking competitions in the world for the United Kingdom’s team.
When she tells Tobias of this news, he tells her she should hold off and focus on her chemotherapy. And like any drama film, Almut doesn’t listen and secretly starts training with one of her chefs from her restaurant.
Maddie and I both agreed that Almut and her commis, Jade, had some sexual tension within, often making us root for them over Tobias and Almut.
With her ovarian cancer not seeming to improve after her first round of chemo, Tobias and Almut agree that they should get married, though they already have a child together. Tobias goes as far as making wedding invitations for June 5.
However, Almut and Jade make it to the finals for Bocuse d’Or, and it is scheduled for, you guessed it, June 5 and 6. But Almut keeps this tidbit of information to herself until she forgets to pick their daughter up from daycare.
The couple resolves their fight, and Tobias and their daughter go to watch the five-hour cooking event. Almut and Jade finish just in time, but, before the competition can be judged, Almut leaves.
This is where my rage really comes through. We never see how Almut and Jade do, she just leaves to go ice skating with Tobias and their daughter. Because at one point in time, Almut was an amazing figure skater.
After Tobias and Almut’s initial night together, she shows him the “proper” way to make eggs, and that is called back to in the last scene of the film, with Tobias showing their daughter how to make them. The movie doesn’t explicitly say that Almut is dead, but it is heavily implied.
Overall, “We Live in Time” was alright, but it still filled me with rage in comparison to the sadness others felt in theaters. Garfield and Pugh were excellent, though the movie had more fluids than I expected. And I think I’ll stick to movies with a more linear timeline.
Boggess can be reached at [email protected].
