On a Monday in late July, in a small Soho screening room with four strangers, I found myself unexpectedly in tears watching Florence Pugh’s new film, We Live in Time. As someone not easily moved to tears, I anticipated a touching romance, maybe a tear or two, but not a full breakdown. I expected a familiar story of two people meeting, facing obstacles, and eventually coming together, something touching yet predictable. However, director John Crowley’s fragmented, time-hopping narrative, exploring the fleeting nature of our time and the essence of life’s moments, caught me off guard.
A week later, I meet Florence Pugh in London. In We Live in Time, Pugh plays Almut, a former figure skater turned chef, so we meet at Hide, the Michelin-starred restaurant where she trained. I hear her distinct gravelly laugh before she enters the room, her energy immediately filling the space. She arrives with her signature blonde crop and a wrist burn from cooking—proof of her dedication to the role.
In one of the film’s most emotional scenes, Almut cracks eggs one-handed into a bowl, symbolizing a culinary legacy passed from mother to daughter. Pugh recalls, “That was what I was most terrified by… not the birthing scene, not the illness. It was cracking the egg with one hand.” Before our interview, we head to the kitchen, where we try to master a different skill—piping lemon curd into croissant baskets, which humorously resemble cartoonish breasts. “You never go full nipple,” jokes the restaurant’s executive chef, Ollie Dabbous.
We Live in Time follows the relationship between Almut and Tobias, a Weetabix salesman played by Andrew Garfield, as they navigate life after a heartbreaking medical diagnosis. The film weaves through their timeline, revealing their devastating prognosis before their initial meeting. Expect to be moved to tears, with mascara streaks and tissues at the ready by the time the credits roll.
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