Almut Brühl is a character from the 2024 romantic drama film We Live in Time, portrayed by actress Florence Pugh. Created by screenwriter Nick Payne, Almut is a Bavarian-fusion chef whose personal and professional journey forms the emotional core of the film’s decade-spanning portrayal of love, family, ambition, and illness.
Almut is introduced as a former figure skater turned ambitious chef preparing to open her own restaurant when a chance encounter changes the course of her life. While driving to prepare for a dinner service, she accidentally hits Tobias Durand with her car, leading to their first conversation and eventual romantic relationship. The narrative of We Live in Time unfolds in a non-linear way, weaving between moments from the beginning of their connection, through their life together as partners and parents, and into the period when Almut is diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Throughout the film, Almut is presented as a complex, ambitious, and deeply emotional character whose decisions are shaped by a combination of drive, fear, and determination. She demonstrates a strong commitment to her culinary craft, winning recognition and eventually leading her own high-end restaurant. Her relationship with Tobias evolves from their initial encounter to a deeply interwoven life that includes moving in together, navigating differing perspectives on starting a family, and ultimately welcoming their daughter, Ella, after Almut undergoes treatment and conception efforts following early cancer remission.
Later, when the cancer returns at stage 3, Almut faces the difficult choice between focusing solely on treatment and pursuing her own aspirations, including competing in the prestigious Bocuse d’Or culinary competition. Her choice to continue training for the finals despite her health challenges underscores her determination to be remembered as a chef of the highest integrity.
Almut is canonically bi, and her sexuality is integrated into the film’s narrative through a past relationship with a woman named Adrienne Duvall. The two had previously worked together and developed a romantic connection, which ended because Adrienne wanted to start a family, and Almut, at that time, could not envision that life for herself. This detail is revealed in conversation with Tobias, and her bisexual identity is handled casually and respectfully, without sensationalism. Tobias’s initial surprise at discovering Almut’s past relationship with a woman quickly gives way to normal acceptance, reflecting the film’s grounded approach to her queerness.
In her romantic life, Almut’s relationship with Tobias grows from serendipitous beginnings into a profound lifetime partnership. Despite initial disagreements about starting a family, the couple eventually decides to have children, and their daughter’s birth on New Year’s Eve in the confined space of a petrol station bathroom during a traffic delay becomes one of the film’s most memorable and intimate moments. Later in their journey, Tobias proposes to Almut upon learning her cancer has returned, and she agrees to undergo further treatment. However, conflicting priorities arise when Almut secretly trains for the Bocuse d’Or finals that are happening on the same day as their planned wedding, leading to the wedding’s cancellation. Her choice to pursue her culinary goals, and the support Tobias offers, speak to both the emotional complexity of their relationship and her insistence on living a life defined by accomplishment rather than solely by illness.
Almut’s final arc in We Live in Time encompasses both her struggle with cancer and her persistent dedication to the things that matter most to her: her family, her craft, and the legacy she will leave. While the film never explicitly confirms her death on screen, strong narrative and visual cues imply that she does not survive long after the events of the Bocuse d’Or finals. In the final scenes, Tobias and Ella are shown continuing their lives without her, yet the lessons she imparted — such as the way to crack an egg and make the perfect omelette — remain emblematic of her lasting influence. These elements combine to provide a nuanced portrayal of love, loss, and memory that resonates beyond the film’s runtime.
Almut Brühl stands as an example of bi representation that is integrated into a broader human narrative, where sexuality is a part of character identity without overshadowing the emotional depth and narrative richness of her life’s story.