'We Live in a Time' Reviews: "As you may expect, Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield have exceptional chemistry with each other"

         On October 11, 2024, A24 released 'We Live in a Time', which has earned predominantly positive reviews from critics, currently holding at 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. In the film, "Almut (Florence Pugh) and Tobias (Andrew Garfield) are brought together in a surprise encounter that changes their lives. Through snapshots of their life together -- falling for each other, building a home, becoming a family -- a difficult truth is revealed that rocks its foundation. As they embark on a path challenged by the limits of time, they learn to cherish each moment of the unconventional route their love story has taken, in filmmaker John Crowley's decade-spanning, deeply moving romance." But what did the critics say?

       Sarah Marrs of Lainey Gossip says, "We Live in Time is so earnest and unabashed about being a tear-jerker, it feels mean to pick on it, but there’s no getting around that it doesn’t work." Adding, "I feel like a terrible curmudgeon confessing none of this works for me. Garfield and Pugh are terrific together, their chemistry is the only thing that makes Time worthwhile. Without them, the film is nothing. But both their performances and the story itself are undercut by the hopscotching timeline, which seems done only to inject some life into what is otherwise a very tired premise. We’ve seen this story a thousand times before, and jumbling the timeline isn’t enough to make it feel fresh. The most interesting aspect of Tobias and Almut’s story is how strange things keep happening to them, like their, er, meet cute when Almut literally hits Tobias with her car, landing him in the hospital, or how she ends up delivering their baby in a petrol station bathroom. There is a way in which Almut’s cancer diagnosis could connect to their rather bad luck, but that connection is never made, instead they just have these quirky things happen and then, cancer."

Photo by Lennon Cheng on Unsplash

        Jack Martin of Film Feeder notes, "As you may expect, Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield have exceptional chemistry with each other, and the actors work so well off one another in ways that come so naturally to them that it almost feels like they’ve known each other for years."

       Dennis Schwartz of Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews praises the film, stating, "The thirty-somethings Almut (Florence Pugh) and Tobias (Andrew Garfield) are a contemporary British couple, residing in South London, who live an idyllic life until Almut gets an ovarian cancer diagnosis. She’s the chef in her restaurant. He’s the divorced corporate marketing face of Weetabix cereal. The non-linear film is divided into three time periods and blends the segments together in curious ways. It shows such things as the couple being playful when together, the childbirth of their daughter Ella (Grace Delaney) at a petrol station’s loo, and the couple bonding together when dealing with her illness as it worsens." Continuing, "It's a terrifically humanizing story on the perils of mortality."