Alex McCurthy
The British actress Florence Pugh couldn’t attend the premiere of her film as she is already busy with another movie but that wasn’t a valid reason for Andrew Garfield to walk the red carpet solo. He turned up for the London Film Festival along with his unusual co-star – life-sized cardboard cutout of Florence Pugh – where she became the delight of many a photographer and fans.
The John Crowley-directed film targets the emotional journey of a young couple, and the star-studded cast features Pugh as Almut, a chef diagnosed with cancer, while Garfield takes on the role of Tobias, her partner, and father to their three-year-old daughter. The film tackles a heavy subject matter like illness and mortality, leading some to call it “life-affirming.”
This impression proved to be a far cry from the reality, as Pugh did not walk the red carpet for her film’s premiere. However, her influence on the film and the narrative was palpable all along. Pugh’s role in We Live In Time explains her much-talked-about shaved head, which she debuted at the 2023 Met Gala. She caused quite a stir in the fashion world then, but in reality, it had direct ties to her portrayal of Almut, who is in remission from cancer at the start of the film.
Meanwhile, Almut falls for Tobias, who, incidentally, was recovering from his painful divorce as a marketing executive for Weetabix. The characters meet in a dramatic fashion; he is hit by Almut’s car, and a bond slowly turns into love. However, their plans for a future together are shattered when the cancer returns for Almut. Though the film has somber tones to it, its story about love, life, and its loss has earned praise for its sincerity.
The film premieres at Royal Festival Hall in the UK, after having successfully crossed the boundary to Toronto International Film Festival. Garfield, synonymous with charm and wit, could pride himself for walking the red carpet alongside cardboard cutout of Pugh-though he made light of it by stating he did not mind missing the actress because, well she was cut from cardboard after all.
We Live In Time received mixed reviews from critics. Some of them, like The Hollywood Reporter‘s David Rooney, were touched by the depth with which the film was emotional. He praised director John Crowley for bringing such sensitive themes across with a “tender yet truthful touch.” He called it a poignant look at life and death. For Rooney, “Seldom has such an unflinchingly honest take on mortality felt so transcendently life-affirming.”
However, still other critics were less than enthused. Kirsty Puchko of Mashable called it “the biggest cinema disappointment of the year,” because it was bereft of emotional appeal even though the film boasts great stars on the set in the form of Garfield and Pugh. “This is not a hot or even sweaty embrace of lust and love, but a soggy handshake of a film,” Puchko said, a deeply disappointing film that failed to bring hefty emotions.
One of such opinions was given by Brianna Zigler of The AV Club, who said that characters seemed to be underdeveloped and this was accompanied with overly sentimental plot. “Everything about Tobias and Almut is so easy and sanitised, so positively twee and precious, that they are borderline unbearable to watch.” Another complaint was the simplicity of characters-their underdevelopment ruined the entire movie.
A weakness, however, has been the lack of chemistry between Garfield and Pugh, which here has proved to be largely one-way, at least tonight. Apart from the chemistry, their on-screen chemistry has been highly acclaimed. Other great subplots within the film, like Almut getting herself involved with an international chef championship, flesh out stories involving these characters.
It was a nice evening set up and done well within the humor of his situation by Garfield as he posed by the cut-out of Pugh. His niceness brought some levity to the evening, to even up the serious undertones which the film itself had set. The fans and attendees could not help but be charmed into action by what Garfield had done.
We Live in Time can be seen as a reunion of sorts for Garfield and Crowley, who collaborated for the first time on one of Garfield’s first notable films, Boy A. It is amazing to see the duo once again, and there is huge buzz with people eager to know how their creative chemistry has evolved since then.
That, of course, should provoke more debate for the rest of the festival. Not everyone will like the approach to storytelling in We Live In Time. Hailed as tender and life-affirming, or criticized as twee and underwhelming, it is that kind of film that has taken its leave. And while Pugh was not there to receive this performance in person, she was felt throughout- partly due to Garfield’s resourceful handling of her not being there.
