Andrew Garfield, after his release of We Live in Time, was taken aback at what he witnessed at the London premiere of his latest film. He is known for his modern ideologies, which is reflected in his recent statement.
While talking to The Guardian, he narrated the incident when the film, which revolves around the story of a late-stage cancer patient, ended. A woman was seen crying profusely as the credits rolled, and Garfield saw her helplessly apologising for her emotional outbreak.
Garfield opened up afterwards, “I think that’s a shame”. He believed that it might be a British cultural fact that an outward expression of emotions is considered “somehow inappropriate or shameful”.
British stoicism is ingrained in the country’s culture: Why is that?
The reason Garfield attributed it to British culture is the country’s reserved and self-controlled image, based on the outsiders’ views.
One of BBC’s articles published in 2020, during the pandemic times, cited that British are stereotyped as “resilient, unemotional and self-controlled”. The well-known British mantra “keep calm and carry on” still holds its strong roots in the culture.
Outsiders have noted that numerous phrases like “soldier on”, “chin up” and “plug away” are commonly used, which is even re-emphasised by the Queen in innumerable public addresses, stressing the value of self-discipline.
It was particularly witnessed during the initial years of the 2000s when the country came out victorious after two World Wars and was economically quite sound for decades. Fear and grief were the emotions still present, however, they succumbed to the narrative of strength and bravery, as the article went on to clarify.
Garfield himself was in love with the movie where the two lead characters put their hearts in the emotional journey of two people. He deeply felt the character and realised that it “could be any of us”.
He admitted that he loved the fact this woman cried her heart out which implies that the film did create a huge impact, which it was meant to.
The director, John Crowley also explained that he had heard several people confessing that they cannot watch the movie without having “an ugly cry”. It is possible that they have had similar experiences in life which made the story “quite touching”.
Crowley turned to Garfield in the interview and shared that it could be a source of embarrassment for cinemagoers and, therefore, that their naked expression in a group could be hard for them to handle.
In the same interview, he once again confirmed and denied any rumours regarding his reprise in Spider-Man 4.