A talented chef and a recently divorced man (Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield) meet, if not cute, then interestingly. They fall in love and are well on their way to building their dream life together when she is diagnosed with ovarian cancer. This is not a spoiler; it’s the first thing that happens in the film. More on that at the end.

Kind of torn on this one. First off, it’s obviously a weepie. But OTOH it’s relatively well written and nowhere near as vacuous as the stuff Nicholas Sparks was churning out a few decades ago.
Melodramatic certainly. Sentimental, not overly so. Surprisingly meditative.

Then, it’s an actor’s movie, with both leads putting in career-best performances, effortlessly elevating the predictable material. Their chemistry is palpable. You know where this is going, but
these two make the journey worthwhile. The film would fall apart with lesser actors.

So all the parts are there to make an above-average love story, given the genre’s inherent flaws. But the thing that knocks it off the “must-see” list is the artsy decision by director John Crowley
(Intermission, Brooklyn, A Boy) to present the story in a timeframe-jumping format that lacks rhyme or reason and does little more than halt the film’s momentum every ten minutes.

I couldn’t help but wonder if a more conventional, linear approach may have been less off-putting. (108 min)