Here’s Why Herne Hill Was The Perfect Place To Film We Live In Time
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1 day ago
'It’s an unglamorous Britain where two people are having this extraordinary thing happen in their lives,' says Andrew Garfield
Hold your loved ones close and savour life’s beautiful everyday moments with them: the romantic, the funny, and even the sad. This is the message at the heart of We Live In Time, starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield and coming to UK cinemas on 1 January 2025. (Don’t forget your box of tissues.) ‘It’s one of those stories that makes you want to do all the things you’ve always been telling yourself you should do but haven’t,’ Pugh summarises. ‘We’re only here, all of us, for a very short amount of time on balance, so what a magical thing to spend that time loving others.’
If you’re captivated by the time-warp love story, you might also have noticed the very British backdrop. But where was We Live in Time filmed? Here are the locations to know.
Where Was We Live In Time Filmed?
We Live In Time was filmed in London – specifically Herne Hill and countryside pockets of Surrey. Tobias and Almut’s romance at the centre of the film plays out against the backdrop of a south London scene familiar to many locals, but rarely seen on screen. Not especially glamorous but not edgy either, Herne Hill is a quintessentially middle-class leafy London suburb – the perfect place to fall in love in your 30s.
We Live in Time is populated with liminal spaces that represent the metropolitan realities of modern dating dating: roads and newsagents, petrol stations and parks. These are the silent characters in all our lives, and for the director John Crowley, it was important to maintain this sense of authenticity. ‘We talked a lot about how certain places become part of your DNA,’ he says. ‘We set the story in Herne specifically because it’s not especially glamorous. That felt important because we thought it would feel true to audiences and at the same time break out of the romantic genre’s usual conventions. We wanted a London that is simply itself and allows all the happiness and sadness that two people go through in life to take center stage.’
Herne Hill Station
On the night of his first date with Almut, Tobias strolls out of Herne Hill Station, a familiar spot for many Londoners, especially those south of the river. Herne Hill is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross, lined with local pubs, independent cafes and thriving markets, and this pocket-sized town is where Almut and Tobias’ life together begins, before the duo abandons London for the Surrey countryside.
Florence Pugh & Andrew Garfield in We Live in Time. (© Peter Mountain/A24)
Brockwell Park
The morning after their first night together, Almut and Tobias go for a stroll through Brockwell Park, located at the southern end of the Herne Hill neighbourhood. This scene adds a touch of urban pastoral to the film, echoing classic romcoms of bygone eras like Central Park in When Harry Met Sally or Rosemead Gardens in Notting Hill, without straying too far from the down-to-earth city setting.
Home to a network of pathways, an old clock tower, Brockwell Lido and a walled garden, Brockwell Park provides city dwellers a hilly landscape, and is a beautiful place to retrace the footsteps of Pugh and Garfield.
(Peter Mountain/A24)
Hascombe
As the couple’s relationship deepens, they move to the countryside together. Rolling hills, pet chickens and morning mist all paint a picture of the quintessential English countryside in this part of the film.
Their home is filmed in the village of Hascombe near Godalming, Surrey – the county where Garfield grew up. ‘I love all the details that John brought towards British life and the beauty of the British countryside,’ Garfield says, also acknowledging his complicated relationship with the location.
‘I was brought up in Surrey, where we shot, and it kind of renegotiated my relationship to my home county, which I wanted to leave as soon as I was able to pursue my dream of being an actor,’ he says. ‘But going back there I was like, “damn, I have to admit to my father that actually, it’s alright down here. It’s beautiful.” I love that this is not a tourist’s Britain that you’re seeing in the film. It’s an unglamorous Britain where two people, a couple you might pass on the street without any thought, are having this extraordinary thing happen in their lives.’
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We Live in Time will arrive in UK cinemas on 1 January 2025. a24films.com
