All Of Us Strangers (2023)

 

Genre: Fantasy/ Romance 

Time: 1h 45mins

Director: Andrew Haigh

Quick Summary: A screenwriter drawn back to his childhood home enters into a fledgling relationship with his downstairs neighbour while discovering a mysterious new way to heal from losing his parents 30 years ago.

Crying. Screaming. Throwing up.

What I mainly like about this is how well it manages to show loneliness, and how it can affect you.  Feeling like an outsider in your own family is tough, but always feeling alone is much tougher. This addresses that feeling so well with a really beautiful monologue. But that's only one part of this story. Mostly it's split into two parts, a new relationship and also reminiscing about parents. 

I'll start with the relationship side. It was sweet. Felt very quick personally as there would be moments I'd be thinking but you just met this man. But I could see that they must have been comfortable together as we witnessed a lot of intimate moments, both psychically and emotionally. These moments were nice, but I felt like it was a distraction from the parent's storyline as we'd have some really emotional tear-jerking scenes, to then suddenly cut to jerking of a different kind. I think the whole relationship side of this would have worked much better as a separate story (and I have this complaint about both sides), I don't think we got enough of the story. I wasn't as connected, especially for the twist at the end.

As for the parents, though I know that the point is we're supposed to know they're dead straight away, how this story plays out I think it would have been better if we didn't know for most of it. Not in a scary psychological way, but in more of a sad reveal would have been better. I found myself wondering if the moments were memories or actually happening, which made some of the scenes a bit confusing. But on the brighter side, I found this so much more emotional and there were a few scenes I was almost crying. Andrew Scott gives a wonderful portrayal of a man who is still very much a lost little boy who longs for the comfort of his parents.

I will say the music choices in this absolutely slap. There wasn't a single song I hated or felt didn't fit, and I'm pretty sure I've added all of them to my own personal playlist. Some of them really helped with slapping us with pure sadness too, especially the ending to which I sat there in the dark with the credits rolling as "The Power of Love by Frankie Goes to Hollywood" in despair. 

Another thing about this is how well-shot it is. The lighting is perfect in almost every scene, with moody purples or reds splashed in. Or natural light shining in more one side of the room, or very very pretty landscapes. I do love a scene where Adam is freaking out because of a nightmare about his parents, and in his current room, he dreams of police lights from his window which is many many many floors above the ground. Or, in some of the scenes with his parents, Adam is truly reflected as a little boy at heart in mirrors or photos that really packed a gut punch at times. 

I don't think this is a bad film at all, I do recommend it. It's just a shame it's two stories in one as I feel that's where it gets mixed up. The romance was a bit weak compared to the parents, but the parents didn't get enough time. Still, a very good and very emotional film to watch.

8/10

"Dad: [tearing up] I'm sorry I never came in your room when you were crying.

Adam: [tearing up] No, really, it's okay dad. I get it. It was so long ago."

"Harry: I dont go home much.

Adam: Does that make you sad?

Harry: I've always felt like a stranger in my own family."

"Mum: [to Adam] You promise me that you are going to try with this Harry boy. I hope you make each other a bit happier."