An up and coming chef, Almut (Florence Pugh) and a recent divorcee, Tobias (Andrew Garfield) find their lives forever changed when a chance encounter brings them together, in a decade-spanning, deeply moving romance. As they embark on a path challenged by the limits of time, they learn to cherish each moment of their unconventional love story. With the several obstacles in their way to making a harmonious home life, their challenge of continuing to stay in the relationship as the obstacles unfold, becomes more and more stressful and unclear.
Others to round out the cast are Adam James as Simon Maxson, Amy Morgan as Leah, Niamh Cusack as Sylvia, Lee Braithwaite as Jade, Douglas Hodge as Reginald, Lucy Briers as Dr. Kerri Weaver, Nikhil Parmar as Sanjaya and Kerry Godliman as Jane.
This was directed with heart and pathos by John Crowley ("Intermission" '03, "Celebration" (TV movie) '07, "Boy A" '07, "Is Anybody There?" '08, "Closed Circuit" '13, "Brooklyn" '15, "The Goldfinch" '19) plus TV and a short. The emotions, especially those of Garfield and Pugh were raw, honest and truly became pivotal to the story. This film was basically hinged on the chemistry of the two lead stars and it definitely worked and this is talented directing. It was interestingly written by Nick Payne ("The Sense of an Ending" '17, "The Last Letter from Your Lover" '21) plus TV and a short. I believe that Nick Payne is a talented writer, however with this film, it became rather disjointed. The different scenes played out in a seemingly disheveled way, however I believe this was purposed so as to piece the scenes together, after a point, in order to make the film continuous with a flow. This style has been performed by other writers successfully, however Payne took too long to piece the scenes together, so by the time the story started making sense,it became a little too much, a little too late. Once the pieces were optimal, the story really did pick up, and then became the story this writer was looking for. The premise was interesting--it just needed to come to a fluid place sooner, otherwise this was a good story and, like I said, an interesting film. The performances by both Garfield and Pugh was stunning and they worked well off of one another.
If you're into romance, fine acting and effective directing, you'll revel with this, however if one is looking for a tight, cohesive script, this will be frustrating for you. I feel that Nick Payne is talented, and maybe his "Midwinter Break" which is in post production will prove it better than this did. We'll have to see.
Out of 4 Stars: 2.5 Rated: R 107mins.
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