Blogs and Other Things

Released: 2024

Director: John Crowley

Starring: Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield

Some movies just get it.

And that’s how they get you.

Some movies should be judged solely on how they make you feel. This is one of those.

Because it makes you feel like shit.

It’s as healing as it is bleak. You’ll feel as full as you do empty, and I think that’s the point. There’s so much to get out of it, but by the end, it feels like there’s nowhere to go.

But life goes on.

And so do you.

‘We Live In Time’ cares more about you than you realize. Soul-crushing as it is, it awakens you. It reminds you to love things harder than you know how. It reminds you that Florence Pugh is attractive (in case you forgot). 

More so, it reminded me what conflict looks like in a healthy relationship. It reminded me to never take a moment for granted, and to open myself to the possibility that life is about growth more than anything else.

So yeah, it was compelling.

It plays with time in such an intriguing way, flashing back and forth so you don’t always know where you are, but you know you’re not lost. Confused maybe, but comfortable; you’re never in the dark for long. It’s similar to About Time in this sense, though here it acts as a storytelling enhancer rather than a plot device, keeping you engaged, if nothing else.

(As if you weren’t already)

The story in itself isn’t anything you haven’t seen before, equally making it all the more impressive. Interpersonal relationships are fleshed out, giving both the characters and the viewer time to breathe. Andrew and Florence are clinically authentic; how they didn’t fall in love, I’ll never understand.

Of course, maybe it is a bit unrealistic, and maybe it is romanticized, and maybe it is too pretty to have such dark undertones. But why shouldn’t it be beautiful? It presents us with brutal realities, and as humans often attempt to make light of our own battles, ‘We Live In Time’ does the same.

While the story may be simple, and it may be heavy, the weight is what makes you care, and what makes you whole.

And in the end, it brings us back to what’s most important: the feeling.

Some of the best songs come from crushing lyrics set to euphoric music. Who’s to say movies can’t do the same?

Personally, I rarely listen to lyrics in songs; if you feel it, I don’t think it matters.