Romantic drama We Live In Time reviewed at The Light Cinema, Wisbech

Film Review: We Live In Time (15)

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh and Lee Braithwaite

Director: John Crowley Run time: One hour, 48 minutes

The chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh lifts this romantic drama from the okay to good category - but I left the cinema feeling this could and should have been better.

Garfield and Pugh are both at the top of their game as divorcée Tobias and talented chef Almut, 30-something Londoners who fall in love after she accidentally runs him over.

They build the home and family they've always dreamed of and things are perfect until Almut is struck by cancer. The topic is dealt with extremely sensitively and there are even some lovely comedic moments.

It is wonderful to see the talented Pugh in a lead role once again, after her supporting parts in the blockbusters Oppenheimer and Dune: Part Two, and she shows here just why she is one of England’s top actors.

Young Grace Delaney is superb as the couple’s daughter Ella and Lee Braithwaite impresses as assistant chef Jade.

The makers of the film try something clever with the structure, flitting through different stages of the couple’s relationship. Which is quite clever, but dulls the impact of the effects her illness has on the family.

Had We Live In Time been presented in chronological order, this would have been a real tearjerker, but the devastation was dulled by scenes being spread throughout.

Having said that, I found the ending refreshingly different than most films of this genre, even though it did come rather suddenly.

Rating: 7/10