We Live in Time

Featuring gorgeously detailed performances from Oscar nominees Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield, this inventively structured romance from director John Crowley (TIFF ’19’s The Goldfinch, TIFF ’15’s Brooklyn) and screenwriter Nick Payne explores the question of how to make the most of our time in this world.

Since their first encounter, Almut (Pugh) and Tobias (Garfield) have rarely had a dull moment. A meet-cute car accident, giving birth in the unlikeliest of locations, a world-class gastronomical competition… their time together seems fated to brim with striking events.

We Live in Time alternates between three distinct chronologies, allowing us to experience this couple’s story in a way that heightens our understanding of how memory collides with present experience and how meaning is made through accumulation.

As the film begins, Almut is given a sobering medical diagnosis and options for treatment that may or may not prove effective. What if the time spent in treatment wastes time that could be spent living life to the fullest?

Pugh is exhilarating as a young woman determined to balance personal relationships with professional ambitions, while Garfield gives a career-best performance by using Tobias’ innate restraint as a way of revealing a deep well of intense emotion. The pair ensure that this intricately told story mirrors our own blend of dizziness and gratitude in the face of time’s merciless march.

JANE SCHOETTLE

Content advisory: sexual content, nudity