When the Chocolate Orange Dies at the Scene
| Title: | We Live in Time |
| Watchable: |  |
| Director: | John Crowley |
| Writer: | Nick Payne |
| Lead Performances: | Florence Pugh (Almut), Andrew Garfield (Tobias) |
The gas station bathroom has become my usual destination because Almut gives birth to her baby on a filthy surface that reeks of disinfectant and desperation while Tobias tries to call for help. The scene shows an unendurable situation which goes beyond what the physical destruction reveals. The film shows its full psychological depth through Almut's flat delivery about their initial encounter at the chocolate orange. People transform their disastrous situations into humorous stories. People require their destructive events to transform into narrative tales.
The director Crowley controls time progression through methods that resemble his approach to cooking eggs. The way memory functions when someone approaches death became my main area of study during this experience. The sequence of events follows emotional pathways instead of chronological order. Our mind stores random memories of a gas station baby delivery and a Michelin-starred restaurant and cancer treatment and first love experiences in a disorganized manner. The explanation might be too simple. The film attempts to present itself as complex but it actually remains straightforward.
The statement from Almut about her relationship with Ella becomes more painful than all the film's dramatic moments. Patients who have terminal illnesses need to select which memories from their life they want to save. Students at three years old will probably remember egg-cracking activities better than medical procedures. The egg-cracking lesson stands as her only recollection from that experience. The absence of Almut terrifies her because she fears she will become nothing but an empty space. Every family photo shows an empty space because the absent person is missing from the picture.
The movie shows an honest depiction of modern relationships which appears both genuine and authentic. The relationships between people require constant dialogue to establish their terms. The decision between working and raising children stands at the same level of importance as selecting between six months of wellness and twelve months of sickness. Almut shows her instinct to depart from locations through her body movements while staying in the same area. Garfield displays a sad expression when he understands he needs to battle death because of his strong love for her. Time stands as his main rival for her affection.
The film reveals Almut's intense anger which I did not expect to see. The statement "I want to die without any meaningful achievements" reveals her genuine human nature while demonstrating her self-centered personality. The statement reveals her human nature while showing her selfish desires which match the way things play out in reality. The Bocuse d'Or competition seems out of place yet it succeeds because of its completely wrong fit. A person who undergoes chemotherapy treatment should not participate in a cooking competition.
The film achieves unexpected surprises for viewers through its non-linear storytelling approach which follows a purposeful narrative structure. The audience witnesses the couple's romantic moments before they encounter each other for their initial meeting. The audience gets to see their daughter's birth before they decide to become parents. The story creates an endless sense of dizziness because it makes you feel like you are always trying to reach a point that already exists. The experience of living with known mortality creates this sensation. All events occur simultaneously yet they seem to exist outside of time.
Tobias checks for the baby's head during the bathroom delivery as Almut remains unable to refuse assistance because their bodies experience identical feelings of helplessness during sex. Crowley demonstrates through his camera work how human bodies reveal their remarkable features together with their ridiculous characteristics. Which they are.
The film explores time as its main theme yet it actually explores how people transform their disordered lives into meaningful stories. Tobias confesses his guilt for focusing on future events instead of being present with Almut at that moment. People tend to create plans for nonexistent futures while they fail to notice the current moment which actually exists.
