All of Us Strangers

All of Us Strangers

One night in his near-empty tower block in contemporary London, Adam has a chance encounter with a mysterious neighbor Harry, which punctures the rhythm of his everyday life. As a relationship develops between them, Adam is preoccupied with memories of the past and finds himself drawn back to the suburban town where he grew up, and the childhood home where his parents appear to be living, just as they were on the day they died, 30 years before.

  • Released:
  • Runtime: 106 minutes
  • Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
  • Stars: Carter John Grout, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy, Andrew Scott, Jamie Bell, Ami Tredrea
  • Director: Andrew Haigh
 Comments
  • lawliettl - 17 June 2024
    Predictable, boring, repetitive, and romanticised mental health issues...
    The movie looks good imagery wise, but the praise I feel I can give it ends there. It was a totally predictable story that I worked out from the first interaction Andrew had with Harry as it was clear that it was just going to go into the trope of having gay men with miserable lives and at least one dies. As a gay male myself, I find this constantly used angle be so boring and manipulative, and also insulting in many ways.

    As for the overall movie, it is just a constant back and forth of the same scenes repeated over and over, and don't misinterpret that as meaning like in Groundhog Day or Russian Doll, I mean it was literally just Andrew talks to parents, Andrew rides train, Andrew talks to/has sex with Harry, and back again. The dialogue was dull and boring and ldft you feeling very little for the characters really, there was no actual depth to them. It was obvious from early on that the movie was going to rely on the farewell scene with the parents and the reveal of Harry being dead to carry the entire thing really and make you feel something. Problem is, by that point you've been wondering when it will end and got fed up so it comes as a relief when you reach the farewell scene as you know the end is coming.

    The acting was pretty standard, nothing amazing. Not good but not bad, just pretty middle of the road.

    The biggest problem I have overall is the romanticising of mental illness. We see this main character basically obsessing and fixating completely on parents who died when he was 12, it had been more than 20 years by the time the movie starts. He is still going into his childhood home where he hallucinates seeing them repeatedly and has conversations with them in which he is saying what he would want them to say. He also regresses to being a child again throughout these hallucinations, as well as coming across somewhat Norman Bates like in his obsession. The fact that all this is in his mind make the farewell scene less impactful than if it had been ghosts, but it does also reveal that he has been in a sort of denial about their deaths, so it came across as being unstable and concerning instead if heartfelt and emotional. Then we get to the reveal that his entire relationship with Harry was also in his head as Harry has been dead all along as well. Why does this make it worse? Because the main character has been living a totally made up life that he created in his mind, meaning he has been completely disconnected from reality all along and in need of some pretty serious psychological help. But it gets worse. Andrew hallucinates more conversation with Harry, despite having just found his rotting body on the bed, so is continuing to deny reality, even saying it out right, telling 'Harry' that he is "right here" with him. The film closes on an overhead shot of Andrew cuddling Harry on Andrew's bed, but the position Harry is lay in is the same as the way his body was when Andrew finds it on Harry's bed. This makes me think the implication is the supposed to be that he is lay cuddling Harry's rotting corpse... not exactly the heartfelt and romantic ending they try to make it look like...

    I don't know for sure that it was intended to come across that way, but I can't deny that it just seemed like a film about a psychologically unstable narcissistic man hallucinating a life he doesn't have and clearly has some deep rooted issues, all of which seem to be romanticised throughout the film in a weak attempt at manipulating our emotions.
  • Gymnopedies - 28 May 2024
    "The hardest part was letting go, not taking part."
    "I'll protect you from the hooded claw/Keep the vampires from your door."

    A metaphysical tragic tearjerker would be how I would best describe 'All of Us Strangers', an incredibly potent film about loneliness and grief. Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal are just marvellous here, especial Mescal who is building a formidable repertoire for his immensely powerful roles such as Aftersun (2022) and Normal People (2020). It is without a doubt one of the most moving pieces of filmmaking I have seen in recent years. The tale revolves around a 30-year-old Londoner Adam (Andrew Scott), and his relationship with his new neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal), and as the story evolves, his past (notably his parents) haunts his every waking moment, trying to seek closure and solace. Their relationship is clearly very important to both, it plays out in a painfully tender and poignant fashion. One of the many reasons that I adored 'All of Us Strangers', is that it is littered with many moving and thought-provoking lines - that would just about break your heart and send shivers down your spine. Andrew Haigh deserves so much praise, his direction really excels because of the tenderness and sweetness that is portrayed between the two leads. Frankie Goes to Hollywood's powerful hit 'The Power of Love' permeates throughout and takes a moving picture and makes it more poignant. This film is quite possibly one of the most moving explorations of loneliness, grief, and love that you will likely see.
  • hucknfrex-78586 - 5 May 2024
    A connection to film like no other
    I was prepping spinach balls for future appetizers; so delicious-see recipe below). I turned on Hulu while prepping and All of Us Strangers was on my saved list to watch so I started watching. In all my years, of which there were many and no I'm not going to say how many...I have accumulated many "favorite" movies, one for each genre. But THIS movie spans such a broad spectrum of genres that I cannot assign it to any one in particular. The movie ended about 25 minutes ago and I'm still crying...filled with a renewed sense of love, friendship, validation as a member of the human race, pure unadulterated bliss and gut wrenching sadness.

    No other film has ever come so close to nirvana (the state of being, not the band which I like very much - thank you).

    I will not post any spoilers about this film and not mention why I am crying; happiness causes people to cry too! If you don't take the time to watch this film, you will have done a great disservice to yourself; trust that to be true.

    RECIPE: Spinach balls.

    2 boxes frozen chopped spinach (drained and squeezed of as much liquid as possible) 2-3 cups Pepp Farm stuffing crumbs (enough to make the mix very stiff and almost dry) 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (fresh or powdered) 3 eggs 3/4 cup melted butter 1/4 cup dry minced onion 1/2 tsp salt & pepper 1/2 tsp thyme 1/2 tsp garlic (Makes approximately 30 1.25" balls)

    1 - Mix all but stuffing crumbs together 2 - Add stuffing cubes and kneed until the crumbs are soft and absorb all the moisture from the liquid.

    3 - Roll into 1-1.25 inch balls 4 - Place balls on ungreased cookie sheet 5 - Bake at 350 degrees for 20mins OR Air Fry @ 335 for 6-8 minutes flipping over halfway through)

    OR FREEZE BALLS FOR QUICK USE LATER.

    Frozen balls cook in air fryer 370 degrees for 9-10 minutes until slightly browned (flipping them over halfway through)

    ENJOY!