The Reel Review
Knowing their time together may be limited, a London couple dealing with one’s cancer diagnosis navigate a decade’s worth of major milestones, some challenging, with humor and grace. Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield star in this romantic drama about making the most out of life.
Director John Crowley (Brooklyn) injects just enough absurd humor into his tearjerker to keep it from being too sappy and maudlin, offsetting those moments of gut-wrenching sadness with laughter through tears. But his decision to incorporate confusing, poorly telegraphed time jumps into his story to keep it focused more on their relationship and less on the cancer also has the downside of pulling the viewer out of some of the bigger, emotionally compelling moments. 2021’s Our Friend with Dakota Johnson did it better.
Pugh and Garfield have exceptional onscreen chemistry, their strong performances significantly elevating the shallow, not-so-strong screenplay from Nick Payne (The Last Letter from Your Lover, Wanderlust), despite showcasing one of the more memorable birth scenes in recent movie history. Some viewers will be put off but the ambiguous, almost non-ending, while others will appreciate its message – that even through death, we live on through our loved ones.
REEL FACTS
• Florence Pugh has described making this film as one of the highlights of her career.
• Director John Crowley also directed Andrew Garfield in Garfield’s first feature film, 2007’s Boy A.
• Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh presented the Original and Adapted Screenplay Oscars together at the 2023 Academy Awards, shortly before it was announced they were starring in the film.
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