Arts

We Live In Time
Director: John Crowley
Film4, SunnyMarch and Shoebox Films
In Theaters 11.18

Laughter, tears, the joy of love, the pain of loss and Andrew Garfield. I’ve personally encountered each and every one of these during my time circling the sun, and they are part of the rich tapestry of the human experience. John Crowley’s new film, We Live In Time, weaves them all together with an elegance and poignancy that is truly a joy to experience.

Tobias Durand (Garfield, Tick, Tick… Boom!, Spider-Man: No Way Home), a representative for a major cereal company in the U K.,  has just signed his divorce papers when he decides to pop across the street from his hotel room to visit a convenience store and is promptly hit by a car driven by Almut Brühl (Florence Pugh, Midsommar, Little Women).  Almut takes Tobias out to dinner, and the sparks start almost immediately. As their relationship deepens and they move in together, they face ups and downs, including a brief separation over differing feelings toward marriage and kids. Love prevails, however, and the couple has a daughter, Ella (Grace Delaney), who is the center of their world at the time that Almut is diagnosed with ovarian cancer. While there is the possibility of a positive outcome with chemotherapy, Almut—overachieving free spirit that she is—questions whether she wants to risk wasting the time that she has left with grueling and miserable procedures, or simply to live her last months to their fullest with the people that she loves. The difficult decision will test the strength of their bond, but together, Tobias and Almut stay committed to the idea that whatever happens, they will embrace each moment together, however it is spent.

While the premise behind We Live In Time is largely that of a standard romantic weepie, the approach is something else entirely. The screenplay by Nick Payne (The Last Letter From Your Love) is clever and filled with wit, warmth, wonder and richly drawn characters. The story is told out of sequence, and while the non-linear approach is right on the edge of wearing out its welcome, here it allows for a movie that’s made up of moments in time, capturing the reality of a relationship and all its experiences, memories and feelings, without have to artificially craft them into a formulaic and false plot structure. There’s an ethereal quality to the way the various elements connect-seeming to float gracefully from one thought to another rather than jump cutting scene to scene-that is beautifully and profoundly refreshing, acknowledging that life doesn’t follow a rigid structure, and is neither episodic nor separated into three acts. The fact that Crowley (Brooklyn, The Goldfinch) is able to jump back and forth so completely through time in such a free style without ever sacrificing focus and narrative clarity is remarkable, and speaks to a skilled director with a vision. 

It would be going too far to say that this movie is all in the performances, yet it’s hard to overstate the impact of the exceptional work that Pugh and Garfield are doing here. The depth of the connection and commitment to bringing the chemistry and emotion couldn’t be stronger, and the movie soars because the audience falls in love with them both so completely. The ensemble surrounding them is very strong, with Douglas Hodge (Gemini Man, Joker) as Reginald, Tobias’ father, and Lee Braitwaite as Jade, a chef who works with Almut, being the most obvious examples. But then there’s Nikhil Parmar (Gran Turismo) and Kerry Godliman (Trigger Point) as Sanjaya and Janes, respectively, two service station workers who figure prominently into the film’s most memorable sequence, as Almut is unable to make it the hospital before giving birth, in what is arguably the most exciting action sequence of 2024. Each minor character becomes a fully realized and believable person, yet it’s impossible to think about any of them for too long without coming back to Almut and Tobias, because the lovable characterizations from two of the most fearless actors of our time are just that good. 

We Live In Time may be indeed just be an exceptionally well-made romantic melodrama that hits all the right notes, but when you consider that the abysmal It Ends With Us represents the most successful mainstream entry in that genre in some time, to say that Pugh, Garfield and Crowley transcend those trappings doesn’t feel like sufficient praise. This glorious, wonderful and life affirming film is a testament to what artists who are passionately committed to bringing a story to life can do, and it ranks among my favorites of the year. –Patrick Gibbs 

Read more film reviews here: 
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Film Review: The Night Eats The World 

A little holiday cheer is expressed and even more is shown, or at least sampled, in “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point.” And almost nothing is explained.

The idea behind Tyler Taormina’s (“Ham on Rye”) warm, aimless and largely laugh-free Christmas Eve wallow in nostalgia is the selectivity of memory, and perhaps how drab the “colorful” memories our director and co-writer decides to show us turn out to be.

Unexplained, disorganized and cluttered with characters we strain to identify in banal situations that go nowhere, this isn’t one that’s going to replace “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “A Christmas Story” or even “The Family Stone” or “Feast of the Seven Fishes” on anybody’s holiday movie list.

What we figure out — eventually — is that this extended family is gathering on snowy Long Island for what could be the “last Christmas” with Grandma Antonia (Mary Reistetter). Eventually, a “Carmine” is mentioned and a couple of other names that suggest this is an Italian American clan.

We see a flip phone, a ’90s Buick wagon and a ’92 Jeep Cherokee and piece together that this an “Eve” in the early 2000s.

A couple of siblings bicker with a couple others over “Sunrise Nursing Home” or “live in aid” options for their mother, over who is not doing enough to help this situation and who is.

The little kids are kind of passed-over — merely underfoot — as the adults cook, smoke cigars, kvetch and reminisce, and the teens and tweens experience traditions such as “the walk,” “the bird” (cooked) and “the parade” — decorated fire engines that pass in a blur. Some kids borrow a family Cherokee for a run out to a cemetary, a little drinking and carrying-on shared in dark close ups and hook ups.

“Car equals FREEDOM!”

We assume they’re not kissing cousins, but hey, when you don’t explain Jack, there is is some doubt.

A couple of local cops (Gregg Turkington and Michael Cera) gawk at some of this while on duty and get into one awkward conversation meant to be comical.

And the soundtrack to it all is early ’60s doo-wop and pop, perhaps for its Italian-American connotations.

I found the entire experience a dissonant disconnect as there is barely anyone to identify, much less identify with, there’s little novelty to anything presented here and nothing to root for because basically a lot of nothing or nothing much is all that happens.

Save yourself the drive. Rent “Feast of the Seven Fishes” and get a load of THOSE Italians if you want to see a memorable period piece about a memorable Christmas.

Rating: PG-13, smoking, teen drinking, sexual situations, profanity,

Cast: Elsie Fisher, Maria Dizzia, Francesca Scorsese, Ben Shenkman, Matilda Fleming, Sawyer Spielberg, Leo Chan, Gregg Turkington and Michael Cera.

Credits: Directed by Tyler Taormina, scripted by Eric Berger and Tyler Taormina. An IFC release.

Running time: 1:47

Hungarian actor Robert Bronzi has made a nice action movie career for himself based in no small part on his resemblance to the late, great Charles Bronson. Following up on his over the top, Bronson inspired gems, Death Kiss and Escape From Death Block 13, Bronzi returns in Mark Savage’s 12 To Midnight. This time it’s personal? Well, yes. But also, this time we have werewolves!

As both a Bronson fan and a werewolf afficionado, I was grinning from ear to ear when I first saw the trailer for this one. It goes without saying I was ecstatic for the opportunity screen and review this film. Did it live up to my lofty expectations?

Read on for my review!

Synopsis

A detective, despondent over the murder of his wife and forced to resign, is brought back to the force when a new serial killer begins taunting him … who turns out to be a werewolf.

Mark Savage directed the film. It stars Robert Bronzi, Tito Ortiz, Sadie Katz, and Daniel Roebuck.

Check out the trailer below!

The Setup

The first ten minutes of 12 To Midnight will have you flashing back to some great action films of yesteryear. Think Cobra or Dirty Harry  or any number of classic 80’s buddy cop movies. We’re off to a good start! Bronzi is introduced as a no nonsense, tough as nails cop, who may or may not have time to bother with the rule book. Already mourning the loss of his wife – victim to brutal murder – some bloody convenience store heroics land him a fat suspension to boot.

Down and nearly out, Bronzi finds comfort in boozing and brooding. But when bodies start piling up, the police can’t afford ot keep their best detective sidelined…even if he does appear have a personal connection to the killings. Bronzi’s back on the case. Can he solve the mystery of his wife’s murder and stop the killer before he…or it…kills again?

A Fun Mashup

Let’s face it: this isn’t Ghandi or Gone With The Wind. If you’re scouting for Academy Award winners or the next indie arthouse film festival gem you’re barking up the wrong tree. However, if you love a good action yarn reminiscent of the old Cannon Films days, there’s a lot to love here. Bronzi, for his part, dopplegangers Charles Bronson nicely. Like many Bronson characters, he’s a man of action and few words, and that suits him well in 12 To Midnight. He says what needs to be said and gets some good one liners in along the way. Bronson would be proud.

Werewolf films are a dime a dozen and you can probably get fifty cop films for that same ten cents. But a hard boiled cop film that’s also about werewolves? Now we’re on to something! It’s a fun concept. There’s not much of a budget here, but they make the most of it. Bronzi is obviously front and center, but you also have some nice supporting performances from Daniel Roebuck (Stream, Rob Zombie’s The Munsters) and Sadie Katz (Wrong Turn 6). Tito Ortiz, ex MMA fighter and action film mainstay, also makes a memorable appearance.

Not Quite A Classic

As fun as this movie is on the base level, it’s also somewhat frustrating because of some potentially great, missed opportunities that could have been. Revenge should be the driving force behind a film like this. Revenge for Bronzi’s wife’s murder. Thematically it doesn’t really materialize, even though it’s implied that these are serial killings. Daniel Roebuck’s character even comments that the killer wants Bronzi in play, but these connections between cop and killer are never fully made. Properly executed, this could have been epic.

Along similar lines, Bronzi plays a detective here and you see him gathering evidence in various scenes, but his character never really gets the chance to put it all together in a satisfying reveal for the audience. It’s a shame, too, because the mystery of who the werewolf is hangs out there like an itch just waiting to be scratched. Unfortunately, that reveal also falls flat.

The creature design is somewhat disappointing. The initial transformation you see is pretty cool, but overall the makeup and costume would have been much better kept in shadow and left to the viewer’s imagination. The creature’s not quite cool enough to be front and center, so you wind up seeing much more than you want or need to here, unfortunately.

Final Thoughts

12 To Midnight is an enjoyable, mockbuster action romp, that harkens back to the glory days of video stores past. If you ever kicked back and enjoyed the latest Seagal, Van Damme, Chuck Norris, or Charles Bronson offering on a Friday night, you’re going to dig this. It isn’t perfect, but it’s a heck of a lot of fun.

Charles Bronson may be gone, but his spirit lives on in the form of Robert Bronzi. Pass the popcorn!