Film Review: All of Us Strangers - 'It ripped my heart out, it’s masterful'

A HUGE buzz surrounds All Of Us Strangers, a romantic drama written and directed by Andrew Haigh and loosely based on a 1987 Japanese novel, Strangers, by Taichi Yamada.

It stars Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, two powerhouse actors who star as lonely men who fall in love.

Scott plays Adam, a writer living in a newly built high-rise London apartment. Adam struggles with writer’s block and spends his days roaming his apartment, eating junk food, and bingeing on daytime television.

He is writing a story about his parents, who died in an accident when he was 12 years old, which explains the writer’s block. It isn’t exactly an easy subject matter.

One night, Adam gets a knock on the door from his neighbour, Harry (Mescal), who has noticed Adam watching him across the hallways. Harry has a bottle of drink and asks if he can come in, but Adam is aware that Harry has been drinking and he has not, so he politely says no.

They meet again and start a conversation, leading to a kiss and a tentative relationship.

At the same time, Adam visits his childhood home to help with his writing and is gobsmacked when his parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell) open the door and welcome him in.

Are they ghosts, or has Adam conjured images of his parents? Is he going mad, or are they really there?

As Adam reveals more of himself to Harry, he continues to visit his parents, having conversations the 12-year-old him never dreamed of having. But what is really going on? Can Adam risk telling Harry about the visits, or will he have to let his parents go?

There is a lot of talk about the sex scenes in this film, and poor Mescal and Scott have been red-faced in interviews talking about their families having to sit through lots of nakedness.

As a film critic, I have sat through my fair share of bedroom scenes, but All Of Us Strangers does something that very few films do. It taps into the connection between two people in intimate situations.

Instead of focusing on the actions, we feel how emotionally connected they are; watching them is beautiful. 

We get so caught up in the connection, we almost forget they are naked; almost, they are a little too gorgeous to actually forget about them. As actors, they are hypnotic, and their chemistry is electric.

This is essentially a gay love story, but you don’t need to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community to be moved by it. A love story is a love story at the end of the day, and we can all relate to that.

It has, of course, huge relevance to the community, particularly those with more complex coming out stories or anyone who lived as a gay person while it was still illegal.

For this reason, it is not always easy to watch, and anyone whose experience isn’t all positive rainbow flag-waving may be flooded with memories of past conversations. It isn’t all hardship and drudgery; the film is also a celebration of the changes in attitude toward same-sex couples and a reminder that it does get better.

The other side of the film, which we will call the ghost story, will also prove to be an emotional overload for many people. What would you say if you could have a few minutes with a departed loved one? If you could visit them more than once, would you? Would one visit be enough?

All Of Us Strangers ripped my heart out and put it back together in a mangled version of what it was before.

It took me a few hours to shake it off, but as I write, I feel it creeping under my skin again.

All the attention is on Mescal and Scott, but Foy and Bell are excellent as they navigate conversations with the 40-something-year-old version of the little boy they knew.

Mescal, who has proven an intense, emotional actor, strikes gold once again. Scott is mesmerising. Adam’s loneliness is palpable; his fear of being vulnerable makes you ache, and the beautiful way he talks with his parents is a rare acting treat. The 12-year-old boy shyly comes out for a hug, but then the 40-year-old has something to say that the child could not.

I don’t know how Scott does it, but it is a masterclass.

This is something special. It is ethereal, heart-rending, and utterly beautiful. And for all the painful emotions it rips out, something is life-affirming about it, too. Please do yourself a favour: catch this beauty in cinemas, cry with your fellow cinemagoers, and experience it rather than watch it. Five stars don’t seem enough.

All Of Us Strangers, in cinemas, Jan 26, cert 16.

Cara has given it five stars.