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Adapted from the book by Taichi Yamada, All Of Us Strangers is a peerless piece of work from writer-director Andrew Haigh, who channels his own emotional agenda through Adam (Andrew Scott) and Harry (Paul Mescal), two men who form an intimate attachment amid the loneliness of London life. Coming together through coincidence and staying together through chemistry, audiences get to witness two people connecting over common ground, exploring a shared sexual attraction, and tentatively taking those first steps towards a relationship. With the subtlest of sound design and an innovative soundscape provided by composer Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch, All Of Us Strangers concerns itself with universal themes that will actively resonate with audiences and leave a lot of questions unanswered.
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Much of that impact comes from the way editor Jonathan Alberts (Black Bird) has shaped the audience experience, by cutting this story alongside Haigh to enhance those performances. Andrew Scott (His Dark Materials) finds magic in the mundane as a screenwriter waiting on inspiration, who reclines on the sofa and fills his time with television shows as days disappear. This apathy towards interaction only adds to the naturalistic feel of the piece, as Haigh offers no clues and steers away from spoon feeding story elements, leaving audiences no alternative but to immerse themselves in Adam’s world. A place, it turns out, filled with ghosts from the past including his mother (Claire Foy) and father (Jamie Bell) who died in an accident when he was barely a teenager.
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Loss and the reconciliation of grief is a central theme that runs throughout this film, as Haigh seeks some catharsis through Adam revisiting his family home only to discover his parents alive and well. Both Jamie Bell and Claire Foy excel in making their scenes meld with other elements within this movie, representing outdated attitudes towards gender identity, same sex marriage, and sexual equality that plays a key part in their dynamic with Adam. However, this never feels like preaching from the pulpit as these scenes exude nothing but warmth, even when conversations are filled with generational prejudice.
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However, All Of Us Strangers lives and dies on the chemistry that exists between its leading men, who are so convincing in their respective roles that a repeat viewing is recommended. As the loose cannon in the equation, Harry is a combination of pent-up longing and unconditional tenderness who remains an enigma from start to finish, giving Paul Mescal an opportunity to be the brooding and brazen next-door neighbour to Scott’s reclusive writer. Between them there is such generosity and trust that every scene taps into universal truths about the human condition and remains optimistic.
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For this reason, discussions will never linger for long on the potency of those sex scenes or the grounded representation of a gay relationship, because All Of Us Strangers looks beyond simple attractions, seeking to explore the fundamental effects of trauma on anyone with a creative soul.
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All Of Us Strangers is released in the US on 22 December and hits UK cinemas 26 January.