The We Live in Time director explains the unexpected Weetabix reference

“We Live in Time” will make you cry, laugh, and make you realize how good Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh are.

But that’s all to be expected. What you might not expect is that the romantic comedy also stars Weetabix.

Garfield’s character Tobias works as a representative for Weetabix, which leads to him being nicknamed Mr Weetabix by Almut (Pugh), giving the breakfast favorite the big screen moment he deserves.

“He didn’t have much of a film profile, did he? And I think that’s the point,” said director John Crowley Digital spy when asked about the Weetabix reference.

Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield, we live in time — A24

Related: We Live in Time review

“I did a play by Nick (Payne) at the Donmar Warehouse nine years ago, so I love the quality he has in his lyrics, which is this kind of everyday poetry, and he has a great sense of comedy without ever being to break.” Structure of a character’s relationship to her.

“I thought Mr Weetabix’s personality and the kind of London that was hinted at in the script, which we then worked very hard to capture and which is, we might say, different from other London films, was also a big deal.”

“To me it felt very real and contemporary in an exciting way.”

Aside from the Weetabix reference, the other thing you’ll take away from We Live in Time is that the pairing of Garfield and Pugh was a masterstroke.

Crowley was sure early on in rehearsals that they had good chemistry. Although they aimed to be “very reserved with the material,” he could see the couple still getting emotional.

Related: We Live in Time receives a good rating on Rotten Tomatoes

“It’s a bit like studying the map instead of climbing the mountain. They were totally up for it because they’re both very experienced and didn’t want to spend anything that you should spend when you’re on set in front of a camera,” he recalls.

“But on the second day (of rehearsals), there were a few moments where they became more comfortable with each other and the scenes started to bring them into an emotional state in an almost natural way.

“You could see they were like two racehorses, kicking the boxes and wanting to run. There were flashes of the strange line between the two that came to life in an exciting way.”

At least British audiences won’t have to wait much longer to see that chemistry on the big screen when We Live in Time finally hits cinemas on New Year’s Day.

We Live in Time hits UK cinemas on January 1, 2025.