“We Live in Time” has been described as “one the most emotionally wrecking, tenderly exquisite movies” of the careers of its stars, Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield — but for better or worse, all that a lot of people can talk about is the infamous horse meme spawned by an early still from the film.
One of the first shots shared from the project showed the pair — who play a couple whose story is told non-chronologically — at a merry-go-round. One of the horses on the ride had a particularly entertaining, wide-eyed expression on its face, and soon the image was making the rounds online.
In an interview with the Independent published Sunday, Pugh and Garfield debated the presence of the horse in question in the movie — Pugh thought it was cut out, while Garfield explained, no, he just saw it at the screening. As Garfield told his costar at one point, “Baby. This is undebatable.” Then they dove into the memes.
Pugh admitted that she was “so worried that that amazing, gorgeous, glittery moment was going to be s–t on by this horse meme,” though Garfield couldn’t have disagreed more. “Man, I love the horse meme. I was about to go into a retreat for six days where I wouldn’t have my phone. And I saw this image for our film that had been released. And I noticed the horse. And I was like, ‘Whoa, that’s an interesting choice.’ I don’t know, did I approve that? I’m pretty sure Florence didn’t approve that.”
“You know, it wasn’t approved,” Pugh interjected.
“So I saw that and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a choice, man. Ah, I’m sure I’m the only one to notice it,’” Garfield continued. “Turn my phone off for six days. When I’m in the departure lounge coming back from wherever I was, I turn my phone on finally. And it’s just horse meme. I was wrong. People noticed it. And Colbert noticed and did a whole monologue on it. Honestly, I was crying.”
When it came to memes that they each liked, Pugh was a fan of the ones inspired by “The Shining” and “Bojack Horseman.”
“And the one where it’s like all of us have the horse face,” Garfield said. “Some of my favorite ones I have saved.” After looking at his phone, Garfield added, “Actually, I’m not going to open up my photos right now.”
After Pugh inquired about the contents of his phone, he answered, “Just lots of dick pics. My own. Cut this out.”
Oh my.
TheWrap’s Steve Pond described “We Live in Time” as “a truly charming and surprisingly rich film” in his review of the movie, which is due out on Oct. 11.
You can read the entire interview, along with some more delightful repartee between the stars, at The Independent.
