A car accident brings together two people who fall in love, and despite numerous tribulations, they try to make it work.
A24 strikes with a heavy drama. Non-linear narratives become more and more common. Sometimes they work, sometimes not. It all depends on whether the narrative demands it or if it is all a pretentious attempt by the filmmakers to impress you. Which one is We Live in Time, then?
Writer Nick Payne and director John Crowley have no intention to pretend. They aim to torture you psychologically. From the opening sequence, Bryce Dessner’s piano warns you that something hurtful will occur. Something that will break the heroes’ hearts almost as much as it will break yours. And soon you find out. From then on, all the back and forth, tackle life’s bittersweet moments, but knowing what will happen makes it only bitter, sour, and borderline unbearable.
Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh nail their parts, offering the realism that Payne and Crowley intended. And while I said earlier that they removed the “sweet”, I may have lied. There is always something sweet, and tons of worth-living moments in life defy the gloom and doom of this world. After all, every cloud has a silver lining.
This is where I leave it. There is no reason to delve into effective cinematic techniques that make it work. All you need to know is that it does work, and you will feel it when you catch yourself short of breath. Again and again.
Thanks for reading!
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