All of Us Strangers

Spoiler alert: Andrew Haigh’s (Weekend, Looking) exquisite British indie film, All of Us Strangers finally landed on streaming this weekend in the U.S. Adapted from the book, Strangers by Taichi Yamada, I knew a bit about the film going in, that on some level it’s a ghost story. It’s nothing you won’t figure out in the first 10 minutes of the film. Andrew Scott gives a stunning performance as Adam, a screenwriter living alone in a London high rise building. Andrew brings Adam’s every emotion to the surface with a quiet intensity, at times it took my breath away. He meets a neighbor, Harry played dreamily by Paul Mescal as Adam begins researching a story about his parents who died 30 years ago when he was 12 years old. Adam and Harry tentatively begin a relationship, at the same time Adam begins visiting his childhood home and spends time with his parents played by Jamie Bell and Clare Foy. Are they ghosts? Are they figments of Adam’s imagination as he writes his next screenplay? Haigh’s been continually raising the bar of what it means to create a gay film. This original work comes packed with sophistication including conversations I have thought about for years but have never seen mirrored in a work of fiction. Adam and Harry discuss the generational differences between the identifiers queer vs. gay. Harry talks to Adam about feeling on the edge of his biological family, and how discovering his queerness allowed him to put a name to that feeling. Adam tells his mother he’s not lonely because he’s gay, there are other reasons in his life for why he feels lonely. Or is it all mixed up? Haigh’s brave, fearless script never shies away from asking these important questions as the plot reveals the complexity of death and grief and how that loss colors our perception as human beings. Andrew and Paul’s languid, floaty falling in love, and the way they touch each other created an intimacy and connectedness within the film. The choice of music – all from the mid to late 80’s features Alison Moyet, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, The Pet Shop Boys, and even Erasure’s Circus album cover. Standout crew kudos to:

Casting by Kahleen Crawford – a quartet of perfect acting
Cinematography by Jamie Ramsay
Editing by Jonathan Alberts
Production Design by Sarah Finlay
Art Direction by Bill Brown and Luke Deering
Set Decoration by Lauren Doss and Marian Murray
Costume Design by Sarah Blenkinsop

There’s an intimacy to All of Us Strangers which invites you in, making room for you to sit amongst the flow of Adam’s life as he attempts closure with his parents death three decades in and makes room for love in his life. Thank you Andrew Haigh. The film never felt predictable including the ending which surprised and blew me away. Exquisite, brave, sophisticated. I’ve used these words already. It’s what I am left with – my memories of this gorgeous film. 5 out of 5.

 

Finding and watching: I’ve been chomping at the bit to see this film. It only came to one Connecticut theater for one week, an hour’s drive away. It also had a one-time screening at the Thursday evening year-round LGBTQ film festival in Hartford, CT, an hour and 20 minutes away. I jumped for joy when it showed up streaming two days ago. All of Us Strangers streams on Hulu. Be warned, using their “with commercials” tier – they are no longer showing commercials only before the movie starts. You get them throughout the movie. We were so horrified, we turned the movie off. The following day, I purchased the film from Prime. If you’ve got Hulu without commercials, you’re good to go. Obviously the film is available to digitally purchase from Prime.

Listen to Alison Moyet’s Is This Love? from her debut solo album, Raindancing (1986) Moyet’s song plays a pivotal role in the film: