‘All of Us Strangers’ Movie Review: A Devastatingly Powerful Portrait of Loss (Copy)
Photo from Parisa Taghizadeh/Searchlight Pictures
From Jeff Nelson
Andrew Haigh has a singular, serene tenderness in his approach to storytelling that it’s impossible not to swoon for it. From Weekend to 45 Years, his exploration of human experiences feels so organic and poignant. Haigh takes us on another spell-binding journey in All of Us Strangers that breaks the heart and enlightens the soul.
Adam (Andrew Scott) is a screenwriter living in an almost entirely vacant apartment complex in London, striking a profound relationship with another resident named Harry (Paul Mescal). He opens up to the man he only just recently met, revealing that his parents (Jamie Bell, Claire Foy) died in a horrible car accident 30 years prior. However, Adam suddenly discovers that his parents appear to still be living in his childhood home but they haven’t aged a day.
All of Us Strangers speaks to the past and commands it into the present, walking the line between Adam’s fears of what came before and how he yearns for things to be different now. He frequently speaks of his sexuality through time, from harmful misconceptions created at the time of the AIDS epidemic to his own reconciliation with his identity. Adam and Harry speak about the difference between the terms “gay” and “queer” in the present, as well as the looming isolation that continues to hover over them from their adolescence.
The art of LGBTQ storytelling is no stranger to tragedy and heartbreak, often becoming a tired trope that overly indulges in trauma. All of Us Strangers has enough of it for several lifetimes, but Haigh navigates it with care. It undoubtedly tugs hard on the heartstrings, but it does so with sentimentality and a sense of calmness that never reads as anything other than sincere. These characters feel so tangible, exploring loneliness and grief in a way that holds a mirror up to the viewer and inspires introspection.
All of Us Strangers achieves its level of emotion thanks to a tremendous cast. Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell, and Claire Foy are all at the top of their game here. Scott impeccably weaves quiet devastation into Adam, expressing decades worth of hurt and grief within a single glance. Mescal is exceedingly sympathetic as Harry, holding onto searing chemistry with Scott that results in some of the most erotic and sultry sex scenes in recent memory. Meanwhile, Bell and Foy both have remarkably memorable moments as Adam’s parents, perfectly capturing a couple stuck in time.
Sound design is important in All of Us Strangers, particularly when it comes to the use of silence. The all too quiet apartment complex amplifies Adam and Harry’s experiences with loneliness, which is even felt in an intensely loud nightclub. Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch’s hauntingly beautiful score perfectly fits the film’s sense of longing.
Haigh is the type of filmmaker who constantly challenges his audience, but he does so with an unforgettably soft touch. All of Us Strangers is a magnificent portrait of loneliness and retrospective identity that penetrates deep into the soul. It’s one of the best films of the year.
Rating: 4.5/5
All of Us Strangers hits theaters on December 22nd, 2023.
