Oliver Barlow

To race against time is to lose, and Almut hates losing. We Live in Time (2024) follows the lives of Almut (Florence Pugh), a headstrong, aspiring chef, and Tobias (Andrew Garfield), a mellow, modest Weetabix corporate employee. Brought together by chance at critical points in both of their lives—one having just opened a restaurant and the other newly divorced—the two hasten to cherish every remaining moment of their love story after Almut is diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures Content warning: this article discusses suicide and self-harm. It felt as though Smile’s (2022) marketing campaign was inescapable the month before its release. Instagram feeds were inundated with its ads, high-traffic YouTube channels promoted the film, and actors were even hired to sit in on nationally televised baseball games, sporting the film’s eerily distinctive smile. Embarrassing as it is, I was intrigued by the blatant corporate marketing.