Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
All of Us Strangers is a gay romantic fantasy about loneliness, loss, and longing.
Adam (Andrew Scott) is a screenwriter living in a London high rise that only has one other occupant, Harry (Paul Mescal). One night a drunken Harry goes up to Adam’s apartment and asks if he wants to hang out with him. Adam is intrigued, but not enough to allow him inside.
After trying to get some work done, Adam looks at pictures of the house he grew up in. He goes for a walk in the park, then stops at a store where he sees a man from his past (Jaimie Bell), who appears to be the same age as Adam. Adam and the man go back to Adam’s childhood home, where he’s reunited with a woman (Claire Foy). The man and woman are never named, but they’re interested in Adam and what he’s been up to since they saw him last.
When Adam goes back home, he runs into Harry at the elevator. Later, Adam invites him into his apartment. They talk, then have sex. Post-sex, Adam shows Harry pictures of his parents, who look like the couple he visited earlier. Adam tells Harry that his parents died in a car accident when he was twelve. Harry asks if he can stay the night. Adam is reluctant but says he would like to see him again.
The film continues with Adam returning to the house to reacquaint himself with his parents. And as Adam bonds with his parents, a deeper relationship is formed between Adam and Harry. And soon reality and the fantastical converge for the dramatic conclusion.
Some Thoughts:
All of Us Strangers is more of a fantasy than a ghost story. When Adam is first reunited with his parents, it’s not obvious who they are. We know they live in the house he grew up in, and that the couple hasn’t seen him in years, but we don’t know who they are. It doesn’t help that all three seem to be around the same age.
The scenes prior to Adam meeting his father at the store feel slightly mysterious, but that’s all. Because of that, the film is confusing for a bit. It isn’t until Adam meets up with Harry again that the pieces about the couple start to come together.
Director Andrew Haigh does a great job with pacing, mood, and the overall visuals. The cast is also up for the job, making the characters easily identifiable and relatable. Scott and Mescal work as a couple discovering each other. And while the dialogue where Adam meets up with is parents is vague, it never feels contrived. Still, I do wish Adam had called one of them mom or dad at least once.
Despite the overall quality, All of Us Strangers doesn’t deliver the emotional intensity or shocking revelation to make it a must-see movie. If the nameless couple Adam runs into weren’t such a mystery, the audience would have more time to form a deeper emotional connection to Adam.
The Final Verdict:
All of Us Strangers is an interesting film that will appeal to fans of arthouse cinema. It’s well-crafted and interesting, but the story takes too long to come together.
