Peter Charney’s review published on Letterboxd:
For nearly a decade, I’ve wanted to direct Nick Payne’s play “Constellations,” and his screenplay for We Live in Time almost feels like witnessing a cinematic adaptation of that play. In both pieces, Payne introduces a cancer diagnosis early on, shifting the emotional weight away from that burden and freeing the viewer from anticipating its reveal as the story’s climax. Instead, both narratives unfold through a series of non-linear vignettes that create a tapestry of a relationship, inviting us to focus on individual moments of profound love and intimacy. Once we stop fixating on where we are in the chronology, each fragment of time stands alone, contributing its own texture to our understanding of this relationship. These isolated moments then form a beautiful, cohesive whole that embodies and emphasizes the central theme of We Live in Time—and, of course, its title.
While non-linear storytelling is more commonly found in the metaphorical world of stage plays, where the immediacy of live performance helps ground the experience, I’m struck by how seamlessly Payne and director John Crowley translate this structure to film. Payne’s screenplay shows great restraint in resisting the pull toward a more conventional, gut-wrenching climax; after all, we already know "what happens." The film’s final power lies not in a shocking reveal but in the small, nuanced goodbyes we witness. The last moment is a simple yet perfect bookend—an understated act of honor and remembrance. It suggests that if we truly allow ourselves to live inside time, it’s these moments—the ones infused with love and specificity—that we’ll carry with us forever.
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