All of Us Strangers (15)

Dir: Andrew Haigh

Cast: Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell, Claire Foy

Andrew Haigh’s fantasy drama is a wonderfully acted and beautifully sombre meditation on love and loss

Following the recent announcement of the Academy Award nominations for the forthcoming ceremony in March, there has been a huge backlash towards AMPAS regarding their “Oscar-worthy” selections. Most of the heated debates online have surrounded Greta Gerwig‘s Barbie, which despite being the biggest movie of 2023, had its director and star, Margot Robbie, absent from their respective categories. Whilst this is a debate for another day, another film that has been considered to have been “snubbed” by the Academy voters is Andrew Haigh‘s romantic drama ‘All of Us Strangers‘.

This strong word of mouth from both critics and audiences resulted in ‘All of Us Strangers’ becoming one of my most anticipated movies of the year. I personally am not too familiar with Haigh’s previous works, having only previously seen his mesmeric romantic drama 45 Years (2015). Despite my lack of insight into Haigh’s filmography, I was well aware of his critical stance having released a handful of other highly regarded films including Weekend (2011) and Lean on Pete (2017).

Also written by Haigh, ‘All of Us Strangers‘ is adapted from Taichi Yamada‘s 1987 novel Strangers, which follows its central character as he befriends a couple who bear an uncanny resemblance to his dead parents. ‘All of Us Strangers‘ is the second adaptation of the novel, following the 1988 Japanese language horror film The Discarnates. Whilst Haigh has moved away from the horror elements having adopted a more romantic genre to translate the novel onto the big screen, the idea of ‘ghosts’ remain, which play a huge part in Japanese culture and can be seen throughout the history of Japanese cinema and literature.

‘All of Us Strangers‘ follows lonely screenwriter Adam (Andrew Scott) and we are introduced to him basking in a heavenly morning glow as it dawns on the distant London skyline. One night Adam is approached by his apartment building’s only other tenant, the drunk but charming Harry (Paul Mescal). After some casual flirting and clear romantic chemistry between the two, Adam and Harry begin to spend more time together which naturally develops into a sexual relationship.

After coming across a family photograph, Adam travels to his childhood home in the suburbs, where he is greeted by his parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell), who died in a car crash when he was twelve. Despite the three decades that have elapsed since the accident, Adam’s parents appear to him the same as the day he last saw them, making them a similar age to his present self. With his parents eager to learn how their son has lived his life and with Adam struggling to cope with his grief, he continues to visit, discussing his career, friends and sexuality in the years that have passed.

Despite being adapted from Yamada’s novel, ‘All of Us Strangers‘ stands alone as a completely unique tale, with Haigh changing the story’s location and protagonist’s sexuality. It has always been a difficult moment in the lives of young gay men when they have come out to their parents, and as a result of their deaths during his childhood, Adam was never able to confront his parents regarding his sexuality, resulting in him hiding from the world over the subsequent decades. The film explores the consistently changing perception of homosexuality in society, with one heart wrenching scene in particular where we see a hesitant Adam come out to his mother, leaving her dumbfounded. Having died in the late 80’s, Adam’s parents are trapped in an era of heightened homophobia as a result of the ongoing AIDs crisis, there is no hatred or malice from Adam’s parents once they are made aware of his sexuality, just an ignorance that was more socially acceptable back in their day. These interactions during the spiritual family reunions highlight the contrast in equality over two very different time periods, making Adam more secure in the knowledge that he is living in a more liberal modern day Britain.

As well as exploring sexuality, at its core, ‘All of Us Strangers‘ is a story of love and loss and how we all manage to cope with grief in our own unique ways. This could have seen the film verge into melodrama as a result of the over-sentimental themes on show, however the film remains grounded thanks to the performances of the core ensemble. Despite the almost “supernatural” setup, Scott, Mescal, Foy and Bell keep the film embedded in reality. While I do think the central story plays at as one would expect once this fantastical element is introduced, it is the central characters and their authentic interactions with each other that keeps you emotionally invested.

The beautifully sombre and solemn tone is perfectly matched Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch‘s haunting score, which seemingly blends in with a stellar soundtrack, featuring some of the biggest hits of 1980’s gay culture from the likes of Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Pet Shop Boys. Showcasing some sublime cinematography thanks to Jamie D. Ramsay, Haigh perfectly captures the eerie yet celestial nature of the novel’s central conceit of the afterlife and brings it to western culture. This is evident during the films breath-taking final frame.

While it may not work from start to finish, feeling somewhat pre-determined, ‘All of Us Strangers‘ is an impactful exploration of grief, acceptance and progression. With some fantastic performances from some of the best the UK and Ireland have to offer, the film remains grounded in reality despite its surreal and dreamlike premise.

All of Us Strangers is now showing in UK Cinemas