02/12/24

Cineworld, Edinburgh

Directed by John Crowley, We Live in Time is a superior rom-com/weepie hybrid, anchored by stunning performances by two of Britain’s best actors, Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield. Tonight’s advance screening – courtesy of Cineworld Unlimited – is extremely busy; in fact, we’ve managed to grab the very last two seats.

Pugh plays gourmet chef Almut Brühl, who hits a dressing-gown clad Tobias (Garfield) with her car while he’s bending down to pick up a piece of chocolate orange that’s fallen into the street. Luckily for the ‘rom’ part of the ‘com’, they’re both single: indeed, Tobias’s poor road-safety skills are the result of his reaction to signing his divorce papers. Before long, they’re in love – but then the ‘weepie’ element comes along, in the form of an ovarian cancer diagnosis, and a whole truckload of difficult decisions.

Nick Payne’s script is a sprightly delight, skipping around in time and tone with absolute assurance. The chronology is disrupted: we start in the middle of the story, then veer back and forth between the early stages of the couple’s relationship and the later trauma of Almut’s illness. It’s laugh-out-loud funny and devastatingly sad, a duality that’s reflected throughout the film.

Because Almut’s not ‘normal’. She’s a fascinatingly complex character: her restaurant serves Anglo-Bavarian fusion food; she’s bisexual; she’s fit and strong (a committed runner) and frail and weak (from the chemo). She’s a loving mother but it’s not enough: “I want to be remembered as more than a dead mum.” Almut treads her own path, and Tobias – softer and more passive than his go-getting partner – is her biggest supporter. Even if her driving force is sometimes hard to bear.

That Pugh makes a convincing chef is perhaps unsurprising as her father is a restaurateur. Naturally, given the couple’s jobs – Tobias is a data analyst for Weetabix – food plays a big part in this movie. Cinematographer Stuart Bentley highlights the seductive pleasure of a whole range of edible wonders, from Almut’s Michelin-starred concoctions to Jaffa Cakes dunked in mugs of tea and eaten in the bath.

We Live in Time is every bit as compelling as its heroine, and certainly worth a trip to your local cinema on New Year’s Day, when it’s out on general release. Just remember to pack your hanky – and maybe a fancy snack or two.

4.4 stars

Susan Singfield