TV show or Movie: Movie
Where to watch: Theaters
Genre: Romantic drama
What It Reminds Me Of: One Day, Live Crazy
Writer: Nick Payne
Director: John Crowley
Premise: An up-and-coming chef and a recent divorcée find their lives forever changed when a chance encounter brings them together, in a decade-spanning, deeply moving romance.
My Premise: A love story told non-linear through the years.
Cast: Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield
Review: I really wanted to love this movie. I adore Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh—two of my biggest celebrity crushes in one film. Plus, when I first saw the trailer, it reminded me of One Day and Like Crazy, two movies I truly enjoyed.
One thing that didn’t work for me was the non-linear storytelling. It was hard to build up to that emotional, tear-jerking ending when the film kept jumping around. I just finished watching This Is Us for the second time and loved how that show jumps through time. I cried plenty of times watching it, but you never fully feel the weight of missing Jack because you know you’ll keep seeing him in future episodes. Maybe this storytelling style works for television, but in film, it can be harder to pull off.
The third act of this movie also left me disappointed. There were choices made that I didn’t fully understand or agree with, and one big moment didn’t really land as intended.
As much as I wanted to love this movie—I love dramedies, I love love stories, and I enjoy getting emotional from a show or film—I didn’t quite get that feeling from this one.
That said, the acting is fantastic. It’s worth seeing for that alone. And the press surrounding this movie is definitely worth exploring. Garfield brought a cardboard cutout of Florence Pugh to a screening, which was hilarious. His interview on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and his segment with Elmo on Sesame Street are both beautiful, as he talks about channeling his grief over his mother’s recent passing into his performance for the film. And his appearance on Chicken Shop Date is one for the books!
Trailer: