We Live in Time

Cancer love stories are an unexpected favorite within the romcom genre. From the raw devastation of Babyteeth to the tender heartbreak of The Fault in Our Stars, these films intertwine tragedy and romance to make the emotional gut punch of both hit even harder. We Live in Time is a crowd pleasing addition, carried by a convincing couple in Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh.

The unfortunate events in this pair's lives start at their meet cute, when Almut (Pugh) runs over Tobias (Garfield) as he is rushing to deliver his divorce papers. From this point on we span the couple’s short but exuberant life together from the sickly sweet haze of their honeymoon stage to the life crumbling lows of Almuts late-stage cancer.

It is a different take on this well trodden ‘slice of life’ formula, jumping back and forward in their story, instead of taking a linear approach. Whilst this allows for nice metaphors on the unpredictable nature of time, it does mean that a lot of heavy themes come to head before the characters have really made an impact. Within the first 10 minutes we cover divorce, pregnancy and importantly- Almuts diagnosis. You can't help but want to know them a bit better in these instrumental scenes.

When they have had more time to develop, they are undeniably likeable, and their chemistry is palpable. Almut is an overachieving top chef, committed to die “not just another wife and mum”, besotted to by Tobias, a family orientated and slightly gormless cereal salesman. It isn't a new dynamic. As film has worked to move away from limiting gender norms, we have become used to seeing ‘powerful career driven woman’ meets ‘slightly awkward fumbling man’. Pugh and Garfield, are a bit twee, but do the roles justice.

There are plenty of genuinely funny scenes also thanks to the writing of British playwright Nick Payne. The best of these happen when the script is given space to breathe outside the sometimes limiting snippets that make up most of the run time. One scene, following the day they gave birth to their child in a petrol station, stands out in particular. Whilst it isn’t a laugh out loud of the ilks of more pure comedy titles like Bridesmaids or Superbad, during this debacle there were genuinely audible giggles all around.

Our story unfolds in the hustle and bustle of London's Herne Hill and the countryside solace of Surrey, places director John Crowley felt were ‘simply themselves’: allowing the couple's emotions to take center stage. We also saw this character-first approach to cinematography in Brooklyn and Boy A and it has to be said that the UK looks beautiful in his warm and understated style. With so many romance flicks taking place in America, it is refreshing to see a love letter to this side of the pond.

At one point Tobias confesses to Almut that he’s been focussing too much on the future, without looking at her, standing right in front of him. It summarises the ‘ ‘seize life and cherish those within it’’ takeaway that is so common in this category. We Live In Time drives this home even harder than most. Is it groundbreaking? No. But it does offer an enjoyable and teary invitation to spend some time with the topic.