"We Live in Time" A Celebration of Life, Love, and the Relationships We Make

 

    Did you know that this film is somehow labeled as Romantic/Comedy on Google? These days, it feels like every romance movie is a romcom, but I think I would go as far to say that this movie isn't really a rom com. Yes there are certainly moments of humour and laughter that cut through the seriousness, but this film isn't trying to make you laugh, but I wouldn't say its some tear jerker that leaves you on a deeply depressing note. Instead, what you get are a lovely series of vignettes in non-chronological order, carefully placed to help viewers understand the relationship it has presented, and all of the serious, often overlooked questions that might come from it. Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Me Before You, but this film is not that genre of film, where a character has some terminal illness and so its all about doing the most lavish things while they're still alive. Instead, this time around there are some real stakes, there's not some estranged child they want to reconnect with, instead it's a young one they're on good terms with, and they have a whole family that has to go through it with them. This isn't movie isn't about a last ditch attempt to experience life before its abruptly taken from you, it's about what happens when you do have a life you're leaving behind.

    Of course, I could not write this review without mentioning the leads, Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, who form the absolute backbone of this company. I think my sister described it best when we watched this film and she just looked over to me and said "they don't even feel like characters I just think they're having fun with each other", and I would have to agree with that sentiment. Normally, I'm used to a much more charismatic Andrew Garfield, but the socially awkward version that he portrays in Tobias works well with the go-getter that is Florence's Almut. Normally, you'd think it wouldn't go so well, Almut seems to be this superstar whose almost shy of all the talent she's simply oozing with, that she could achieve anything she wanted, while Tobias is some datahead for Wheatabix of all companies, seemingly absolutely bland through and through. It shouldn't work, but it does because of how well the chemistry works between the two actors. Even if the relationship feels a bit jumpstarted, that's kind of the point, it was a chance encounter after they both went through entire lives without each other, and now they have to figure out the best ways to enjoy it.

    If the acting was the foundation, then I think subtext was the glue that really made this movie work though, let me explain. This film is not in a chronological order, that is very clear from the beginning of the film, and the reason this matters is that many of the special moments are left unsaid, and its on purpose, and it works. It doesn't make you feel dumb, it doesn't bog you down with all these moments, sometimes there'll be a scene where they'll talk about a big important decision or fight, but because you know it's not chronological, you already know what the decision is, you just need to see what lead up to it. That way, for a movie that clocks in at under two hours, it feels jam packed, and not in a bad way. Of course, you can miss things, both my sister and I missed one or two things that the film later clarified, but it was ok because it didn't make us feel stupid, it didn't feel like it had that much dialogue where characters were just giving exposition.

    It all culminates in the final scene, where it feels almost fake, as if its part of some fever dream. Almut finishes the competition, leaves with her family, and they go skating on a rink with their daughter, which culminates into her waving off at them on the other side. That's it. There's no crying, there's no funeral, everything the film has shown up to that point has come to this beautiful piece of scenery full of symbolism. Whether it be skating, the activity Almut gave up on after her father died, the eggs she taught Tobias how to crack, the dog they talked about at the beginning of the film. Ultimately, this film aims not only to be a celebration of life, but a celebration of the relationship that Tobias and Almut had. There's no long, somber, drawn out scene at the end where they all cry over Almuts deteriorating corpse. Instead, what you see is a family continuing to live, carrying on her legacy and memory, which can be seen through all of these tiny callbacks to real conversations Tobias had with Almut prior to her death. After all, she didn't want to just be some dead mother like she had mentioned, she wanted to be someone her child was proud of, and that didn't mean abandoning her passions or goals to experience life with reckless abandon, nor did it mean resigning herself to the slow march of death. She continued to live, and now she got to live on in her family, she wasn't gaunt, she was on the other side, waving, content with her choices.

Final Score: 80/100

    This was quite a nice film, I really had no complaints about it. I'd like to touch on a bit more about the questions they posed about relationships. I feel like on the cancer front, a lot of films do the 6 good months is better than 12 bad ones schtick, but I feel like if you have kids you have to try to live as long as possible regardless? Even if its a worse quality of life, when you become a parent should you not live for your own child? Do you not owe it to them to try and leave them with twenty more years of memories, even if the chance is slim? Especially because they're daughter is three, so how much of this she remembers is debatable, hence why it's cute you can see her mothers influence through her actions rather than just photos. Also Almut should have just told Tobias about the tournament, which he would have objected to, but realizing the wedding was on the same date and not telling him until after he worked on invites was quite devastating. Though, I suppose the wedding was more of his idea, after all she seemed to be adamantly against sentimentality or formalities like that, which makes her sort of similar to Tobias' mother. On that conversation surrounding children that ultimately blew up in Tobias' face a part of me wants to say that he was just trying to find the right way to talk about it since he is so socially awkward, but at the same time being socially awkward does not give you free reign to speak however you'd like, even if I do think Almut was being a bit rude. On a random last note, I was always under the impression that Christmas was supposed to be involved with this film somehow? I suppose its because I thought it was released closer to December, and because they're in Britain they never really wear thin/light clothes, so I thought this was going to be some cutesy winter rom com, but I'm not complaining with what I got either.