Ivan Radford | On 22, Feb 2025

Director: John Crowley
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh
Certificate: 15

Andrew Garfield is one of the most charistmatic actors working today, second perhaps only to Florence Pugh. So having both Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh in a film at the same time makes We Live in Time an intimidatingly charming prospct. The film doesn’t disappoint.

Based on Colleen Hoover’s novel, it’s a tale of boy-meets-girl that also dips a toe in grief – either way, it’ll have you crying buckets long after the end credits. We first meet Tobias (Garfield), who works for a cereal company, as he’s undergoing a heart-wrenching divorce – only to wind up hit by a car on the night the papers are signed. Behind the wheel? The impossibly talented chef Almut (Pugh). Their meet-cute unfolds in a hospital corridor, her not sure about admitting their impactful connection, him not sure if they know each other, and us not sure whether we’re watching them flirt as a flashback before their impending split.

But We Live in Time has a more devastating path planned for us – and it’s a sign of how successful it is that it manages to walk us along it so immersively, despite the fact that we’ve encountered such time-hopping relationship dramas before. Nick Payne’s script effortlessly whisks us from sex to pregnancy to agonising diemmas without any of it feeling contrived or manipulative. A large part of that is down to Brooklyn helmer John Crowley, who directs it with a free-flowing tone that oscillates between happy and sad often within the same line of dialogue.

The magic, though, lies in its remarkable star couple. Florence Pugh is fierce, sinking her teeth into the meaty role of a woman who wants to be more than her career, but also doesn’t want her professional legacy and accomplishments to be overshadowed by family or illness. She elevates what could have been a cliched, thankless part with heart, humour and a constant spark – her deadpan expressions are as funny as her outbursts are agonising. And she forever changes the way you crack an egg open while baking.

Andrew Garfield, meanwhile, is as endearingly vulnerable as you’d expect, bringing a steely passion to his sincere affection. He begins the film wounded and only gets beaten up further – if he were a dog, you would have signed the adoption papers by the end of act two. But he’s ferocious in his feelings, capable of opening up with an honesty that’s utterly disarming – in his hands, the key speech about learning to appreciate the moments in front of you defies the film’s cheesy title.

The result is a gorgeous, swooning romantic drama with hilarious bits – a winning rom-com that isn’t afraid to go for the jugular. Powered by its leading duo’s lived-in, instantly convincing chemistry, it’s like a long-awaited sequel to Like Crazy, the kind of movie that bursts your heart open with its unbridled, unabashed intimacy. Just, wow.

Add to Watchlist