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I sort of expected “We Live In Time” to be the greatest romance movie of the 21st century.

So that’s my bad.

“We Live In Time” is NOT your typical feel-good romance. All of the posters of Almut (Florence Pugh) and Tobias (Andrew Garfield) laughing and kissing totally threw me off. I thought “We Live In Time” was going to be cute and uplifting, not devastating.

“We Live In Time” is about the romantic relationship between two characters: Tobias and Almut (weird name, but she’s British, so anything goes). Spoiler alert: Almut gets cancer, which she eventually dies from. However, their relationship is not shown chronologically, but in time jumps. By time jumps, I mean each scene of the movie was out of order.

Obviously the time jumps were intended to somewhat confuse the audience and make the theme clear: time is precious. But I don’t think it did that. Even though scenes sometimes cut off before whatever action was going on finished, I never felt a sense of urgency. Don’t get me wrong, they were done artfully, baffling the audience just the right amount, but it was still uninteresting to me.

For example, audiences saw Tobias and Almut’s relationship, before it cut to a scene of Tobias signing divorce papers. Pretty confusing, right? Especially since he wasn’t divorcing Almut in that scene, but a different partner. Moments like that just didn’t add anything special to the movie.

One scene I didn’t see coming was the birth of Almut and Tobias’ daughter, Ella. Despite their rush to get to the hospital, they didn’t arrive on time because of traffic, forcing Almut to give birth in a gas station bathroom. While nothing spectacular, it gave the movie a much-needed comedic break. Most of the movie was either serene or sad, which was pretty boring. I wish that more humorous scenes were included to give audiences a break from the rest of the movie.

But just like how most of the movie was, let’s get back to the negative. While the audience had seen that Almut was going to have cancer treatment, when watching scenes before her diagnosis it was obvious that she would inevitably die. It was probably supposed to be hopeful, seeing how Almut still lived a vibrant life while battling cancer… but it didn’t feel that way. It felt cheap. Even after Almut had worked so hard to compete in the Bocuse d’Or, audiences never even found out if she won or lost the championship. It was just unsatisfying.

Also, there was a weird amount of vomit. Not to get graphic, but Almut was barfing all over the place. It was probably to show how gruesome cancer can be, but the camera even panned down to show the barf a few times. It was gross and unnecessary.

But when Almut (finally) died, I was crying. How could I not? Even though the movie was only ok, Almut still died, leaving her husband and young daughter behind. So while I appreciate the message of this movie, I think it could have been executed a lot better.

But on the bright side, my movie-viewing experience was fantastic. I’ve been going to the Edwards Greenway Theater my whole life. Just walking in is nostalgic because of the bright murals all over the walls. They depict celebrities that were popular in the 90’s, all dressed up for a supposed movie premiere. It’s fun to walk in and try to spot Tom Hanks or Nicole Kidman.

When I walked in to see “We Live In Time,” I was horrified. On the escalator up to the second floor, there’s more of the mural which is accompanied by mirrors, making it seem like you’re in the painting with all of the actors and actresses. It’s my favorite part of the theater, so when I saw that the mural and mirrors were gone, dread pooled in my stomach.

Houston is a city where construction never stops, and beautiful old buildings are constantly being torn down in favor of more basic, modern ones. I knew they were going to turn the theater, so full of character, into something plain. I mourned the loss of my iconic Edwards Greenway.

But then I walked into the actual theater itself, and I took it all back. The theater was FANCY. The old, questionable red seats that felt like sitting on scratchy carpet were replaced with soft faux leather. Each chair had its own tray table with a personal cupholder, altogether negating the “Which arm of the chair has my cup holder?” problem. And the best part: the seats recline! I was amazed at the IMAX-level experience for a regular price.

But, I digress. “We Live In Time” was okay, not glorious like how I had hoped. If you’re looking for a sad movie to cry to, it’s definitely for you. It just wasn’t for me. So while I probably won’t be watching “We Live In Time” again anytime soon, I will definitely be back at the Edwards Greenway Theater.