Andrew Garfield brings cardboard cut-out of Florence Pugh to red carpet

If you were to picture Florence Pugh arsenic a two-dimensional actress, she mightiness understandably consciousness rather insulted.

Her co-star Andrew Garfield, however, has taken a much literal approach, bringing a cardboard cut-out of her on with him to a premiere she was incapable to attend.

While astir movies launching astatine the London Film Festival successful the past week oregon truthful person had their A-list stars successful attendance, Garfield had to alert solo connected Thursday evening arsenic Pugh is presently distant shooting different movie.

The British histrion portrays a young cook who is diagnosed with crab successful We Live In Time, portion Garfield plays her spouse and the begetter of the couple's three-year-old daughter.

The movie was changeable past spring, and was the crushed for Pugh's shaved caput astatine the 2023 Met Gala, a look which made headlines successful the manner press astatine the time.

Despite its dense taxable matter, We Live In Time has been praised arsenic "life-affirming", though different critics person described it arsenic "positively twee".

Garfield plays Tobias, a Weetabix selling enforcement who is struggling with a divorcement from his archetypal woman erstwhile helium is tally implicit by Pugh's quality Almut.

He wakes up successful infirmary with an apologetic Almut by his side. The brace yet autumn successful love, but their plans for the aboriginal are thrown into uncertainty erstwhile the crab Almut thought she was successful remission from returns.

The movie sees Garfield reunite with manager John Crowley, 17 years aft the merchandise of their erstwhile collaboration Boy A - 1 of Garfield's earliest breakthrough roles.

Garfield walked the reddish carpet astatine London's Royal Festival Hall connected Thursday, alongside his cardboard co-star.

The movie is, successful galore ways, an enjoyable watch, with existent chemistry betwixt Garfield and Pugh and absorbing subplots specified arsenic Almut's information successful an planetary cook championship. But the movie has received mixed reviews since its premiere successful Toronto past month.

The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney credited Crowley with directing the movie with a "tender yet truthful touch", adding: "Seldom has specified an unflinchingly honorable instrumentality connected mortality felt truthful transcendently life-affirming."

Other critics person been acold little positive, however, with Mashable's Kirsty Puchko describing it arsenic "the biggest cinema disappointment of the year".

"While peppered with enactment scenes and adoring close-ups, this is not a blistery oregon adjacent sweaty clasp of lust and love, but a soggy handshake of a movie that underwhelms contempt its prima power," she said.

"We Live In Time’s worst misdeed is making its bladed characters truthful damn boring," added Brianna Zigler of the AV Club.

"Everything astir Tobias and Almut is truthful casual and sanitised, truthful positively twee and precious, that they are borderline unbearable to watch."

Sara Michelle Fetters of MovieFreak gave a warmer reception, writing: "Even if immoderate of the melodramatic pieces neglect to connect, Garfield and Pugh’s performances are truthful stirringly fantabulous that they marque the movie substance adjacent with its frustrating shortcomings."

And determination was a four-star reappraisal from the Guardian's Benjamin Lee, who said: "It’s specified a joyousness to ticker 2 specified assured and earthy performers allowed the country to workout some movie prima and histrion muscles arsenic good arsenic showcase their easiness with some drama and drama.

"Their softer, funnier and sexier scenes are much effectual than astir romanticist comedies we’ve seen for a agelong portion but past their harder, weightier conflicts are conscionable arsenic effective."

One affectional country sees Tobias and their girl assistance to shave Almut's caput - which was Pugh's real-life hair.

"For immoderate histrion taking a relation similar this, it is wholly important that you spot her caput and we spot her shaving it – it was conscionable ever a no-brainer," Pugh told British Vogue recently. "You person the honour of doing thing to yourself that is wholly successful enactment of the character."

Garfield admitted helium was nervous. “What if I someway destroyed the caput of 1 of the champion actors of her generation?" helium joked. "It was terrifying, but yet it was a precise beautiful, intimate country to sprout and convey God she has specified a nicely shaped melon."

Pugh added that she was inspired by her character's tendency to unrecorded beingness to the full. “I was astatine the close property for this movie to land,” the 28-year-old said.

“I was going done a batch of weird worldly with relationships past twelvemonth and I deliberation portion of the communicative is to not beryllium passive, is not to fto things lavation implicit you. I privation to spell and find emotion and I privation to person babies.”

Pugh has antecedently starred successful films specified arsenic Little Women, Midsommar, Don't Worry Darling, Oppenheimer, Black Widow and Dune: Part Two.

Garfield's erstwhile surface credits see The Social Network, Hacksaw Ridge, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, the Spider-Man franchise and Tick Tick... Boom!