_{By: Amanda Guarragi}

When we think about relationships and finding love, the hardships couples face normally aren’t part of the discussion. The hard-hitting questions and the complicated conversations help relationships grow. You want to see a future with your significant other, but the unknown is terrifying, considering many things that can go wrong. 

Communication and being on the same page with everything makes the fear of the future dissipate. Couples cycle through many changes. Individual dreams become partnered dreams, and the support system is there. 

But what happens when an illness takes over one’s life and affects the partner? 

In John Crowley’s We Live In Time, he explores the nature of a relationship standing the test of time. He shows the difficulty of uniting as one when two people have lived such vastly different lives. Writer Nick Payne highlights important moments between a couple and compiles them to form a heartbreaking narrative. 

The film explores the relationship between Almut (Florence Pugh) and Tobias (Andrew Garfield). Almut is an up-and-coming chef who is determined to own a restaurant and be one of the best in the world. 

One day, after a car accident, she meets a recent divorcée (Garfield), and they hit it off. Their relationship spans a decade, and the non-linear narrative has crucial moments weaved into the present. Crowley’s decision to transition from past to present while Almut and Tobias are struggling with pregnancy and cancer treatments was effective. 

Crowley visually showed the fragments of memories throughout the film. One situation in the present can transport us to any moment in time where a phrase or an emotion is reproduced. When facing any difficult conversation, one always refers to a time when things were simpler. It also happens during happier moments because you feel you’re banking on the present moment with the others. 

The film wouldn’t have worked without the chemistry between its two leads. Garfield and Pugh were incredible together and sold their characters’ stories. Garfield was more shy and reserved than we’ve seen him previously. 

His character, Tobias, was sweet and endearing. You could tell how in love and transfixed he was with Almut. Tobias fed off her energy because of how outgoing and tough she was. 

Pugh played a heightened version of herself with a tenacity in the kitchen even though Tobias and Almut were opposites, the two fit like a perfect puzzle piece. Almut had internalized her emotions because she had undergone heavy grieving as a child, so love for her is expressed differently. In comparison, Tobias is much softer and openly communicative about his emotions. 

When Almut is faced with the decision of chemotherapy, this is when their life is altered. Tobias is incredibly supportive and helps her in every way he can. Almut struggles with how she must adapt to this new chapter and how it will affect Tobias. Pugh and Garfield emotionally ground the hectic, non-linear narrative with each scene they share. Whether arguing or expressing their love for each other, no moment is wasted, and their love is felt. 

We Live In Time is more of a showcase for Pugh than for Garfield. Crowley does focus on how Almut handles her illness and her individuality as a chef. She wants to be remembered for something more than a mundane life, more importantly, more than her illness.

Almut throws herself into competition while undergoing chemotherapy and blocks everything else out because she needs to do this for herself. Her ambition overpowers her life with Tobias. It’s an emotional film based on the decisions one must make for themselves and their partner. It shows that life is short and that it’s better to communicate with someone who supports you than go through tough times alone.