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| Photo from Internet Movie Poster Awards |
Film: We Live In Time
Director: John Crowley
Length: 1h 44m
Genre: Romance/Comedy
Rating: Restricted
Released: Oct. 18, 2024
I have returned!
So, as mentioned in the title, this was one of my most anticipated films of the year. While it was a good film, it wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be but I'll say that after watching it a second time I think I like it better than I originally did. I like how it’s tastefully funny and not cheesy even though it is a comedy. I believe my expectations were so high because of the cast, but also because the film was produced by A24, which has quickly become my favorite production company.Usually, the films I watch produced by A24 are eerie and unnerving because that (among other things) is what the company is good at. I think that since this was a romantic comedy and I'm not used to seeing A24’s take on that genre, it felt incomplete to me. I think it leaves you wondering a lot of things after it’s over, which is another thing that A24 does well. It doesn’t set it up for a sequel or anything; it more or less leaves some things up for interpretation even though the viewer knows what happened but not necessarily how it happened. If that makes sense. I just wish they would have shown everything, for lack of better terms.
Starring in the film are Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. This is the first role that I have seen Florence Pugh play that could be described as normal. Normal meaning, not someone who is going to lose their mind. Her character in this is so complex and so real. It’s easy to cheer her on and relate to her. I am also a fan of Andrew Garfiled and have seen him play a multitude of roles. He, of course, is wonderful every single time. His character in this carries a notebook and in various scenes we see him writing in it or reading from it and it's something that I would like to read; if it were more than just a prop, of course.
One thing that I had to make note of was seeing them play characters in England. I think it is so interesting to watch actors/actresses play a character that requires them to learn and use an accent. Language is always evolving and changing so they have to take that into consideration when learning. I especially want to put emphasis on how difficult a British accent would be. From what I've learned, accents in England vary by city or even town so there are just so many varieties to do that accent and it has to be right.
I really liked the story itself, but I don’t like how the story was told. As I mentioned before, I don’t like time jumps or, as I previously called it, a jumping timeline. In my opinion, these time jumps made the film confusing. I think this is partially because in the scenes that show the past and the scenes that show the present, the characters look and act the same age so it’s not obvious that it’s the past. The film relationship spans ten years, but I would have never known that if I wouldn’t have looked it up. After watching this a second time, I believe that if I hadn't already watched the film, I still wouldn’t have understood the timeline. I do understand that the time jumps add interest to the film, but at what cost? I would have preferred it to be told in a linear chronological format.
I know that the film was marketed to be really sad, and don't get me wrong it was, but I think it's also important to acknowledge that sadness is subjective. It wasn’t as sad as I wanted it to be or as I was expecting it to be.
IF YOU DON”T WANT SPOILERS, STOP HERE!
Lastly, I will say that I wish some scenes were longer and elaborated on a little more. I’m not just referring to the ending; there are some parts where I just want to know a little more. I wouldn’t be pertinent to the story but I think it would have made it better. For example, in the proposal scene, I wish that what Almut (Florence Pugh) read in Tobias’s (Andrew Garfield) journal was read aloud so the viewers knew what he said. Also, I am interested to know more about Almut’s first cancer diagnosis. I understand why that isn’t in the film since she wasn’t with Tobais at the time and it’s a story about the two of them together, but I want to know nonetheless.