By james art 
Anyone who has seen a romantic movie knows that the most important ingredient in such a movie is the chemistry between the two characters in love. That chemistry is abundant in the new version, We live in time starring Andrew Garfield (tick, tick… BOOM! 2021) and Florence Pugh (Dune: Part Two2024) as two young people living in England whose paths cross violently and then turn into romance. Over the course of many years, their relationship navigated self-doubt, fertility challenges, secrets from the past, and a frightening health diagnosis.
We live in time is not a romantic comedy because it has a slightly melancholic tone throughout with lots of quiet dialogue and heartfelt montages of lovers doing fun activities together. Both Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh give believably vulnerable performances. He is shy and socially awkward, while she is ambitious and open-hearted. They find comfort in each other during life’s difficulties, portraying a love that is determined and modestly steadfast.
Nick Payne is the screenwriter of this movie and he wrote another tragedy-tinged romance from 2021 called The last letter from your lover. He also wrote several episodes for the popular Netflix series, The crownand this is where you can spot the similarities in his writing style. No one inside We live in time talks too much so none of the dialogue feels forced or redundant. Everything looks gentle and natural because this movie clearly wants everyone to like it. So why did I walk out of the theater with only a shrug as an emotional response?
Irish director John Crowley keeps this film in line with real bittersweet stages in the lives of these ordinary people, much like his Oscar-nominated film, Brooklyn (2015). But I couldn’t ignore the feeling that I had seen movies like this before. I’m talking about A love story (1970), Dying young (1991), One day (2011), The vow (2012) and there are many more to include here. Telling the story of We live in time in a non-linear way, it’s a pleasant surprise and adds some interest, jumping to different periods in the lovers’ lives without any hints or foreshadowing. But I still left the theater with dry cheeks, wondering why I wasn’t more moved.
Is my heart made of stone, drenched in garbage and drenched in dung? Am I emotionally handicapped against the romantic lives of ordinary white people? If that’s the truth, then I’ll just say it We live in time is sweetly adequate. It is true that not every film has to be a brilliant flash, showing something new and pushing boundaries. We live in time is an example of this. So it will tug at some heartstrings, but it’s not exactly an exciting choice for movie buffs. (But maybe for romantic movie lovers, this WILL be an exciting choice.)