TORONTO (AP) 鈥� In 鈥淲e Live in Time,鈥� and act an entire life of a relationship 鈥� a gamut of dating, falling in love, having a child and reckoning with cancer. So when Garfield recently went on a six-day retreat in the woods without his phone, one of his first texts was to his co-star.
鈥淚 came out and I sent Florence a message. I just felt compelled,鈥� Garfield says. 鈥淲hen you reconnect with yourself, you reconnect with a bunch of stuff that matters to you. And I was just like, man, I haven鈥檛 let Florence know for a few months how much this film and this time with her meant to me.鈥�
鈥淲e Live in Time,鈥� directed by John Crowley ( 鈥淭he Goldfinch鈥�) and penned by playwright Nick Payne, is the kind of movie that provokes an emotional response, including for its two stars. In playing their characters, Almut and Tobias, across a decade of time, 鈥淲e Live in Time鈥� poignantly condenses, and remixes into a non-linear narrative, a wide spectrum of life. Right alongside each other are sex and heartbreak, stolen moments and life-changing ones, birth and death.
It was enough to go through together as actors that Pugh and Garfield, when they spoke the morning of the film鈥檚 premiere at the last month, were still mourning it.
鈥淚鈥檝e never had this happen before in this way. We鈥檝e literally spent the last two days trying to unpack it and everybody wants us to unpack it. And we don鈥檛 know,鈥� says Pugh. 鈥淲hen we finished the movie, every scene that got closer and closer to the end, it became harder and harder to process that we weren鈥檛 going to be able to do it anymore.鈥�
As two of the most in-demand actors of their generation, Pugh, 28, and Garfield, 41, have transformed themselves into all kinds of roles. They have donned Marvel costumes and joined period ensembles. Pugh was memorably outfitted in an elaborate flower dress But 鈥淲e Live in Time,鈥� which A24 opens in theaters Friday, is a particularly unadorned view of two of the best actors working. It鈥檚 the first film in which Garfield has used his real voice.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e two very beautiful creatures to look at, and have looked fantastically beautiful on screen 鈥� and do look very beautiful in this, by the way, just not in a glammed-up, aspirational fashion,鈥� says Crowley. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e also both British actors who have made significant inroads in American cinema, and to some eyes, people might only know them from that. To have them speak in their own accents allowed those roles to fall back much closer to them.鈥�
Chemistry can be a tricky thing to pin down. Crowley, whose 2007 film 鈥淏oy A鈥� was Garfield鈥檚 feature film debut, cast Garfield first. After that came Pugh. Crowley prefers to keep dress rehearsals subdued in order to save the energy for shooting. But there were, he says, 鈥渇lickers of something very special" between them.
鈥淢uch like two championship tennis players warming up, they couldn鈥檛 not once in a while hit the ball in an extraordinary way and have the other person hit it back," says Crowley.
In an interview together, the connection between Garfield and Pugh was abundantly clear. Their reaction to (in which a carousel horse appeared to be their uninvited co-star), that hinted at their natural comic patter. But whatever chemistry is, Garfield is more inclined to attribute it to staying present as actors.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 predict it. I knew Florence was a magnificent actor. But that鈥檚 all I knew. I didn鈥檛 know whether we鈥檇 work together well. Neither of us did,鈥� Garfield says. 鈥淏ut for me, honestly, it exceeded my expectations. It鈥檚 an incomparable thing. There鈥檚 no way of comparing my experience with Florence with any other experience I鈥檝e had.
鈥淚 said this to Florence last night, I was like, 鈥業t鈥檚 weirdly, in a way, one performance. It鈥檚 like we鈥檙e stitched together.鈥欌��
For Pugh, chemistry is about showing up with the right intentions.
鈥淲e were willing and wanting to do that for each other,鈥� says Pugh. 鈥淭here鈥檚 plenty of times when you鈥檙e willing to do it and someone isn鈥檛. And that鈥檚 also fine because you can also create your own chemistry with yourself, I suppose.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 so much more hard work and much less fun,鈥� adds Garfield, smiling. 鈥淛ust like self-pleasure.鈥�
In some ways, Garfield and Pugh were living alongside 鈥淲e Live in Time鈥� and experiencing some of its chapters of life with their characters, albeit from different perspectives. When Almut is diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer, she is forced to make difficult decisions that weigh having children with her ambition as a chef.
鈥淚f you want to be successful, if you want to actually give your career a good crack at it, you鈥檙e going to be running through the time that is most optimum for having children,鈥� says Pugh. 鈥淚t鈥檚 stuff that I鈥檓 now having to figure out since we made the movie, since the movie鈥檚 coming out. It鈥檚 for all ages of women that are trying to navigate this unbelievably tricky dilemma.鈥�
Some of the challenges faced by Almut and Tobias were deeply familiar to the actors. Garfield鈥檚 mother died of cancer in 2019. Others took more imagination. Neither Garfield or Pugh have children, but a lengthy birth scene, in a gas station bathroom, is the movie鈥檚 most show-stopping moment. To experience Almut鈥檚 cancer treatment, Pugh was convinced she needed to cut her hair. Crowley filmed Garfield cutting Pugh's hair for the scene.
鈥淚 wanted this to be gone now so I knew how she feels in these scenes that I鈥檝e read in the script and thought about, but that I can鈥檛 imagine how she felt yet,鈥� Pugh says, pointing at her hair. 鈥淚 loved that day. It was a very powerful day.鈥�
The experience has left both actors trying to hold onto something from 鈥淲e Live in Time.鈥� Garfield began the interview by opening up a book, offering a poem and then reading aloud
鈥淛ust to remind myself that I鈥檓 a person, I guess,鈥� he explains. 鈥淎nd because this film is about being as vitality alive as humanly possible. I think it鈥檚 really hard to remember how to do that sometimes 鈥� a lot of the time. In fact, it鈥檚 all set up against us doing it. So we need practices to keep us in touch with that.鈥�
If 鈥淲e Live in Time鈥� is ultimately about making peace with the fleeting nature of all that鈥檚 precious, and trying to appreciate those moments when they鈥檙e happening, Garfield is doing his best to carry on that mentality and be grateful for the time he and Pugh had together.
鈥淓very relationship is sacred. Every deep intimacy is sacred," Garfield says. "And I think it鈥檚 such an amazing thing and a brave thing to do to actually address it and go: This is over now. We鈥檙e ending this now 鈥� much like Tobias and Alma have to do. So I think it all becomes life, art, imitation, whichever way around.鈥�
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
