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We Live in Time‘s trailer opens with this couple’s ‘meet-cute’, where Tobias (Andrew Garfield – Spider-Man: No Way Home More Fun Stuff Version) and Almut (Florence Pugh – Dune Part Two) first come across each other, as she accidentally runs him over while he crosses a busy road…
Hang on, Alwut? That’s a German name, yet she’s clearly as English as Florence Pugh is. Anyhoo, the film, itself, begins with the two as an item, with Almut now pregnant, then having a tumour which developes into Stage 3 Ovarian cancer. Hence, this felt more like I’d missed the first film and tuned in for the sequel, as events had clearly moved on.
We then jump back and forth in time, more often than you can say the word DeLorean, as she refuses chemo, stating she wants 6 good months, rather than 12 ghastly ones; then to the ‘present day’, explaining life and death to their daughter; and to a time where Tobias is living with his Dad, whilst working in IT for Weetabix, with the cereal brand mentioned so often, I thought they’d sponsored the film!
And come on… which men named Tobias HAVEN’T shortened it to Toby? None of them will use their full name like that, unless they’re posh toffs.
At another point, the two appears to meet at another point in time, making me wonder if this was an alternate universe. So, is this yet another Multiverse film?! Are they going to morph into Yelena Belova and Spider-Man?
However, events did ring true for me when Tobias finds his car blocked in between two other cars, almost pulled right up to the bumper, baby, reminding me of my own experience at a time when I worked in Salford Quays. In his case, he had it easy, as they were all level on the road, whereas in my case, we each had one side up on a pavement.
The offenders on both sides were far more expensive cars than mine – and you never know who might be watching, so I couldn’t just take the option to ram them – but along with a whole lot of inching forward, turning the steering wheel, then reversing back slightly, turning the wheel again, inching forward, and so on, I also had the kerb to deal with, so as I move forward off the kerb, I’ll lurch forward into the car in front, and when I go back a bit, I’ll have to rev the acclerator in reverse, so I actually climb the kerb in order to go back, but then stop with just enough time before I smash into the car behind me… I managed it, but it was a fucking pain in the arse.
Beyond that, since Almut is a chef, she enters the Bocuse d’Or competition, cooking posh nosh with colleague Jade (Lee Braithwaite), hoping to win as one of her final achievements, my issue with this segment being that…
I shouldn’t be surprised that the writer of this was Nick Payne, who brought us the tedious The Sense of an Ending, from 2011, along with 2021’s The Last Letter from Your Lover, for which I couldn’t even make it past the trailer without vomiting.
As for We Live In Time, although it’s very well-acted, it has a soap opera storyline with the scenes stuck on random! God knows why they did that, as it didn’t seem to have any purpose whatsoever.
If you want a decent Andrew Garfield movie, check out 2019’s Under The Silver Lake, which no-one seems to have heard of, but was brilliant!
NOTE: There are no mid- or post-credit scenes.
We Live in Time is in cinemas now, and is available to pre-order on Blu-ray and DVD, ahead of its release date TBA.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 108 minutes
Release date: January 1st 2025
Studio: A24
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 (ARRIRAW)
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 6/10
Director: John Crowley
Producers: Adam Ackland, Leah Clarke, Guy Heeley
Screenplay: Nick Payne
Music: Bryce Dessner
Cast:
Tobias: Andrew Garfield
Almut: Florence Pugh
Ella: Grace Delaney
Jade: Lee Braithwaite
Skye: Aoife Hinds
Simon Maxson: Adam James
Reginald: Douglas Hodge
Leah: Amy Morgan
Sylvia: Niamh Cusack
Dr. Kerri Weaver: Lucy Briers
Dr. Hernandez: Robert Boulter
Sanjaya: Nikhil Parmar
Jane: Kerry Godliman
Buffy Jones: Heather Craney
Benjamin: Matt Kennard
Lucas: Sam Kennard
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.