Released at the very beginning of the year, Everything But You was the only romantic comedy to remember from 2024. But this lean period comes to an end with LOVE IN THE PRESENT by John Crowley, the film that all lovers of love wait…
A passion controlled to the millimeter
LOVE IN THE PRESENT is undoubtedly already the romantic comedy of 2025 given the anticipation surrounding the film. With Florence Pugh et Andrew Garfieldtwo handsome, rich and talented actors popular with the public, it cannot be otherwise. However, it’s when everything seems so good that something goes wrong. Despite all the attachment we may have for these actors, we find ourselves facing a distant film where it is complicated to be passionate about this couple. If this is the case, it is because LOVE IN THE PRESENT is, like its characters, too methodical and orderly. Although it is not linear, the choice of sequences is always made meticulously to stick to what is happening in the present and, thus, touch our sensitivity without really achieving it. The most surprising thing here is that, whether through its narrative or through what it shows, this is a film that wishes to step outside the box of the classic romantic comedy, but which completely dives in by doing so. This is symptomatic of a footage which is only made up of contradictions and which gets confused when it comes to creating emotion.
Love at odds
By getting confused in its editing, LOVE IN THE PRESENT naturally does the same when it comes to time. With Almut's cancer (Florence Pugh), it's about enjoying the present moment without worrying about the future. For such orderly characters, it would have made sense for this to be their goal given that they are the type to plan everything in advance. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The disease displays a timer above the screen when it should never have existed. This is reflected in the footage through a sanitized production, sprinkled with moments of emotion in close-ups of teary eyes to the worst effect. The passage from one to the other is unnatural, because it is done mechanically in a pattern that constantly repeats itself. LOVE IN THE PRESENT only works when neither he nor the characters control anything. When the two meet or during childbirth, it becomes more real, which offers us beautiful moments of life, something we wish we had all along.
A marital imbalance
The contradictory spirit of the film arises from its subject: the couple facing illness. Almut and Tobias (Andrew Garfield) are two very different people. One is progressive and has a large family, while the other is conservative and is an only son with only his father left. The meeting between the parents of the two lovers marks the distance between the two, the reverse shot creating a wall. It is then a question for them of overcoming these differences and breaking down this wall to experience true love, except that it is an unfair fight. By falling into line, Almut will pay dearly. Cancer is a kind of punishment for her, a torture she must endure in order to have a family of her own. Tobias, for his part, obviously risks losing his wife, but this is nothing compared to what his partner is going through. It's all the more annoying as he is the typical profile of a completely unrealistic companion model. If this is the image he sends back to us, it is because we very rarely see him outside the family circle. He therefore becomes a character only present to come out with vague sentences while pursuing a classic development in which he will involve his wife.
Almut will still try to stay true to herself by attempting the Bocuse d'Or, but it can be seen as a selfish gesture. We understand why she participates, but the footage does not support her convictions enough, particularly with regard to a tool character like her companion to whom we can only agree given her perfection. Treating the cancer more realistically would probably have helped. Almut is in phase 3, but she seems to be doing well to the point of still having some hair. It would have been unnecessary to go into pathos, however showing the difficulty of having the illness would have helped to emphasize the strength of the character. Thus, from a fragmented story claiming to be original, we find ourselves with something very classic, and even unfair.
Almut, or the central cog of the work
The imbalance in the treatment of characters is explained by the fact that LOVE IN THE PRESENT is a film about Almut. The footage opens in particular with his morning routine between jogging and cooking, thus showing that these activities come second to Tobias. This is where the film regains interest, because although she “settles down” by building a family, Almut continues to pursue her goals. The difference compared to before is that the Bocuse d'Or no longer becomes a personal goal, but a family goal, because she is doing it for her daughter. This could have been developed more instead of being delivered in one sequence, however it fits its main ambition to convey. This is a logical goal given that there is no mystery surrounding her death, with the film taking the woman further and further away from her family.
So, whether with her kitchen assistant or with her daughter, she wants to leave something behind. This goes hand in hand with overcoming the mourning of her father, she who did not take the inheritance he had left her. Almut then condenses all of this at the very end where she accepts in beautiful shots – making the link with others seen previously – to accept the death of her father, her own and that of her condition as a mother. With all this, Tobias cannot exist. He can take his father's inheritance by also becoming a widower, however, this is an element that is not mentioned enough to be significant. On the other hand, they manage to be useful to Almut's development, because they are part of his life. When they hug, they even manage to become one, however, it would have been more appreciable to have this balance throughout the film to truly be emotionally involved.
LOVE TO HERE had everything to welcome us into his arms, except that he created an emotional barrier between us. By never knowing what he wants to do, the film wants to be distant although Almut and his tragic destiny were reaching out to us. LOVE IN THE PRESENT will be the romantic comedy of the year 2025, but it could have been much more than that.
See also
Flavien CARRÉ
