As A24's favourite activity, they once again delivered a devastating cinematic masterpiece that leaves us sobbing and questioning life. This time, without the incorporation of the themes of science fiction or alternate realities, We Live in Time takes us on a raw emotional journey to witness the authentic beauty and melancholy of real life.

Plot Overview: A Love Story Told Through Time

We Live in Time explores life through the long-term relationship of Almut, played by Florence Pugh, and Tobias, played by Andrew Garfield. By going over realistic milestones and life-altering hardships, the movie focuses on portraying life's important moments, from pure happiness to brutal shock and grief, while delving into all the moments in between of excitement, anticipation, hope, or despair.

This long-awaited pairing of Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh and the trailer may have falsely promised the audience a lighthearted rom-com with a happy ending. Despite the devastating story, the movie still delivered its promise of a genuinely wonderful love story.

Themes: The Realities of Love, Loss, and Terminal Illness

Although the terminal illness trope can be a little overused at times, what sets We Live in Time apart is how it gives equal focus to each character's side of things, providing us with a deeper perspective into what terminal illness can do to a family. 

For instance, Almut always tries to live her life to the fullest and accomplish the best she can. Getting confronted by her own limitations and mortality has transformed her priorities as she suddenly shifts her focus from her individual life to a more collective focus and desire to share her life with others and create her own family.

At every turn of events, she tries her best to make the most out of the situation, sometimes even at her own expense. When faced with her terminal illness for the second time, Almut finds herself being pulled in different directions, trying to do it all at once. For one, she needed to focus on her own recovery but feared risking the little time she had on a possibility, so she wanted to focus on the time she had left. 

Almut finds herself trapped in a difficult dilemma regarding how to spend her time. She wants to create the best moments in every aspect of her life while also giving her young daughter core memories to cherish. Her actions can be seen as both a significant sacrifice and a form of selfishness. On the one hand, she has given up her own time to create joyful experiences for her daughter, aiming to be remembered by her in a happy and healthy light, even though this is the complete opposite of Almut's own state of being. However, she may also be inadvertently sabotaging her potential recovery by exhausting herself in an attempt to overachieve in all areas of her life.

For Tobias, he tries to give his all, as always, while barely holding it together from the shock and grief. He's unconditionally loving and supporting throughout the movie, posing a very positive role model for a life partner. 

The movie has been considered relatable and realistic for those who underwent similar devastating experiences. It has been praised for its ability to capture the raw emotions and authentic behaviours of these hard times.

Cinematic Techniques: Non-Linear Storytelling and Visual Cues

The story is told through the use of a non-linear timeline. At first, it feeds us bits and pieces of each character and the earlier stages of their relationships. Throughout the movie, those bits and pieces gradually form the whole picture of their motives, emotions, behaviours, and actions.

Each period is easily concluded from the lighting and the subtle changes in the character's appearance and general attitudes. The movie goes back and forth to show us the different stages of their relationship and the changes and development of their characters throughout the movie.

The cinematography and direction were flawless; it was overall a well-executed movie with deep attention to the visual details, such as the colour palettes and the use of warm and cold lighting to transition between the past and present, which significantly added to the story and replace, the need of using a complicated dialogue.

Conclusion: A Raw and Authentic Look at Life

Through a painfully authentic lens on life, We Live in Time takes us on another journey of exploring human emotion, intimacy, melancholy, and loss. The plot beautifully overgoes mostly all the good and bad moments within a couple's shared lives, from relationship stages to lifelong commitments, and how they face life's obstacles together. 

However, the thing about trying to encompass several years within a movie is that it sometimes hinders the plot's ability to be deeper in certain aspects. Still, the movie was well-executed and had a lot of positive reviews. 

This emotional range creates a whole cinematic experience that is able to spark different feelings in the audience within only two hours. The movie emphasises the fluidity of life and that no matter how happy or sad things are, life just keeps going; there's beauty in every phase. As in the words of Rainer Maria Rilke, "Let everything happen to you: beauty or terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final."