Advertisement

Can I interest you in a Douglas fir parfait?

A man and woman laugh and embrace in "We Live in Time."
Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield in “We Live in Time.”
(Peter Mountain / Studiocanal)
Share via

“Bring the energy. But be smart about it.”

That’s the message Dodgers slugger Max Muncy has for fans attending tonight’s winner-take-all playoff game between the Boys in Blue and those preening San Diego Padres.

It’s good advice, and I can tell you from personal experience, it works. It’s the same thing I used to tell my son, then 5, before his youth soccer games, when he was wont to race up and down the field whether or not the ball was within 100 feet of his feet. That you have to say this to a bunch of grown-ups attending a baseball game is another matter entirely. But we’ll leave that discussion for another time.

I’m Glenn Whipp, columnist for the Los Angeles Times and host of The Envelope’s Friday newsletter, bringing the energy.

‘We Live in Time’: Dying from cancer, the curated version

In the run-up to the release of the twisty weepie “We Live in Time,” A24 released a promotional picture of its main characters, played by Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield, enjoying a carousel ride together, their giddy pleasure overshadowed by the presence of a golden, bug-eyed and, from the look of things, demonically possessed merry-go-round horse in the foreground of the photo.

Advertisement

The image became an instant meme with people superimposing the stallion into shots from “The Shining,” “Alien 3” and any other movie where this horse’s malevolent visage actually made sense. (Unlike, say, a romantic tear-jerker.) It’s as if Ari Aster had a leftover prop from “Hereditary” that was gathering dust inside an A24 storage shed and someone decided to insert it into “We Live in Time” just to see if anyone would notice.

And if they had? Who knows, maybe it’d spawn a new slow-burn A24 horror film centered on a haunted carousel that acts as a metaphor as to how we spend most of our lives going around in circles, lost until Death comes riding in on a googly-eyed horse to snatch us away.

That would be a more interesting movie than “We Live in Time,” which seems less a film than an impeccably curated Instagram account that’s been jumbled out of sequence. Here’s Pugh, playing celebrated chef Almut Brühl, gathering ingredients for a Douglas fir parfait, an iffy creation that signals her daring brilliance. Here’s Almut again, now quite pregnant, sitting on a toilet, having her contractions meticulously timed by her dutiful partner, Tobias (Garfield). Now Almut is in the kitchen, doubling over in pain. (After eating a Douglas fir parfait, perhaps?)

Advertisement

The movie, which I reviewed for The Times, opened today in four theaters around town before expanding wide next weekend. I shed no tears. But don’t you dare call me unfeeling. I got a little misty-eyed just the other day listening to this song. (And, yes, I do realize it’s hard to make the good things last.)

Pharrell Williams sees his ‘soul’s intention’ in Legos

The Pharrell Williams documentary “Piece by Piece” arrives in theaters today, telling the story of the prolific musician’s life and career through the use of Legos. It’s fun, though not particularly illuminating. I’m not quite convinced that Williams is the musical genius that the movie makes him out to be, but he’s had a hand in more songs than I realized.

My pal Katie Walsh, reviewing for The Times, called the movie “surprisingly moving.” Eh. Maybe she’d cry watching “We Live in Time” too. I’ll have to ask her. My old friend Mikael Wood spoke with Williams, who says the movie is less a celebration of all things Lego than a “celebration of the transmutation of hubris to humility.”

Advertisement

“When you hear your voice and you see a Lego character, it objectifies a situation — makes it so it’s not so personal, so you can see beyond your personal flaws and see your soul’s intention in a way you might not be able to if you were looking at an actual video,” Williams told Mikael.

Maybe that’s what we all need, our own personal Lego figurine. Imagine all those Legos, bringing the energy and being smart about it.

Lego versions of Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams.
Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams in “Piece by Piece.”
(Focus Features)

Looking for more in-depth coverage on all things Envelope?

Shop our collection of The Envelope magazines today.

Feedback?

I’d love to hear from you. Email me at glenn.whipp@latimes.com.

Can’t get enough about awards season? Follow me at @glennwhipp on Twitter.

Advertisement