All of Us Strangers (2023 film)

All of Us Strangers 2023 is a British romantic fantasy drama film directed by Andrew Haigh. The film, loosely based on Taichi Yamada’s 1987 novel Strangers, explores themes of grief, isolation, love, and memory through a surreal narrative. It stars Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal in the lead roles, with supporting performances by Jamie Bell and Claire Foy.

Plot

Lonely television screenwriter Adam lives a secluded life in London. At his tower block, he meets his drunk neighbour Harry, who has noticed him in the building and wants to join him for the night. Reluctantly, Adam declines and sends Harry away.

Adam takes up writing and decides to visit his suburban childhood home, now unoccupied. He encounters his parents, who both died in a car accident decades earlier just before he was twelve, and appear as they did at the age they died. Adam has dinner with them and promises to visit again.

Returning to his flat, Adam encounters Harry by the lift. He reciprocates Harry’s interest from earlier and the two embark on a passionate relationship. Adam learns of Harry’s own feelings of distance from his family, and the two slowly build a life together.

Adam has several subsequent meetings with his parents. During a talk with his mother, Adam reveals his sexual orientation and they discuss it. His mother accepts that Adam is gay, but reacts with concern and slight discomfort. On a later visit with his father, Adam discusses being hurt by his father’s silence about the bullying Adam experienced as a child. The two tearfully reconcile and hug.

Later, as Adam and Harry’s relationship flourishes, the two spend a lot of time clubbing and take ketamine together. One night Adam wakes up after a blackout and discovers he is back at his parents’ home, this time at Christmas. They hang lights on the Christmas tree together and celebrate happily as music plays. Unable to sleep, Adam gets in bed with his parents and tells his mother about being sent to stay with his grandmother after her death, which his mother laments. Adam then drifts back to his life with Harry.

Adam seemingly awakes on an Underground train and sees Harry in the next car. Harry is distant and does not approach him. Adam sees a vision of his younger self screaming in the reflection of the train car. In actuality, Adam is in his bed, suddenly waking up crying. Harry has brought him home after a club incident where Adam had a panic attack. Adam discusses the details of his parents’ death. He reveals his father died instantly in the car accident, while his mother lingered for several days in the hospital. His grandmother kept Adam from seeing his mother due to her dire condition, which has forever haunted Adam.

Adam takes Harry on a trip that night to meet his parents. Harry is sceptical and somewhat alarmed at Adam’s behaviour. They find the house empty. Concerned about Adam’s mental condition, Harry urges them to leave. Adam’s mother is then seen beyond the window peering at them through the glass. Adam pounds on the door until the glass breaks.

Upon waking up the next morning with his parents, they explain that Harry went home. They tell Adam that in order for him to find happiness, he must let them go and move forward in his life with Harry. They take him to his favourite childhood restaurant, where they ask about the circumstances of their deaths. Adam tells them they both died instantly, which is a relief to his mother, although untrue. The three tearfully reaffirm their love for each other, after which both parents vanish.

Cast

Andrew Scott as Adam

Paul Mescal as Harry

Jamie Bell as Adam’s father

Claire Foy as Adam’s mother

Production

Andrew Haigh adapted Taichi Yamada’s novel, shifting the setting from Tokyo to London. The film was produced by Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, and Sarah Harvey. Filming took place in London and at Pinewood Studios. The film features a notable soundtrack, including music from Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

Graham Broadbent and Sarah Harvey of Blueprint Pictures first pitched the project to Yamada in June 2017. Later that year, Haigh and Film4 Productions came on board. Haigh described his adaptation of the novel as “a long and sometimes painful process”. He said, “I wanted to pick away at my own past as Adam does in the film. I was interested in exploring the complexities of both familial and romantic love, but also the distinct experience of a specific generation of gay people growing up in the 80s. I wanted to move away from the traditional ghost story of the novel and find something more psychological, almost metaphysical.”

On 30 June 2022, the film, then known as Strangers, and the principal cast were announced. The announced plot was brief and vaguely worded, and attracted inquiries on social media as to whether the film involved a romance between Scott and Mescal’s characters.

Filming was in progress in the United Kingdom when the announcement was made. Haigh’s childhood home served as the filming location for the house in which Adam finds his parents. Nightclub sequences were shot on location at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern.

Themes and Analysis

Grief and Loss: The film delves into the lingering impact of grief and the ways in which individuals cope with loss.

Isolation and Connection: Adam’s isolation in his apartment building and his yearning for connection are central themes.

Memory and Nostalgia: The film explores the power of memory and the ways in which the past can shape the present.

Queer Identity and Relationships: The romantic relationship between Adam and Harry is portrayed with sensitivity and intimacy.

Fantasy and Reality: The film blends elements of fantasy and reality to create a surreal and dreamlike atmosphere.

Release

The film premiered at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on 31 August 2023, and played at the 2023 New York Film Festival on 1 October 2023. It also made it to the main competition of the 68th Valladolid International Film Festival. Cork International Film Festival chose the film as its International Gala film, acting as the Irish premier, on 19 November 2023. The screening was held at the Everyman Theatre to a packed house. The QCinema International Film Festival hosted three screenings of the film on 19, 20, and 24 November 2023. It began a limited release in the United States on 22 December 2023 and was released in the United Kingdom on 26 January 2024

Reception and Critical Response

Box Office In its limited opening weekend, the film made $232,909 from four theatres, a per-venue average of $58,000. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 267 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The website’s consensus reads: “All of Us Strangers examines profound grief and love through a fantastical lens that is always grounded on human emotion.”Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 90 out of 100, based on 53 critics, indicating “universal acclaim”. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “A−” on an A+ to F scale.

Filmmaker Edgar Wright praised the film, saying “I am in awe of what Andrew [Haigh] managed to do in this film. It’s a true testament to his artistry that he was able to make a film so personal, emotional and resonant, yet also so satisfying within its place in a genre. Though a traditional ghost story might end on a note of sadness or shock, the fact that Andrew is able to leave us with a moment of infinite beauty is to be cherished.”

In December 2024, Collider ranked the film at number 4 on its list of the “10 Best Fantasy Movies of the 2020s,” with Robert Lee III writing that it “has a lot of different moving parts that all seamlessly come together to make for an emotional rollercoaster of tear-jerker moments. From its exploration of the isolation and self-doubt that grief and pain place upon us to the inherent genius of a premise that allows Adam to come out to his parents after a lifetime of never believing he’d get the chance. It’s a work of art that can be interpreted in a multitude of different ways, which is one of the greatest strengths that this type of mature fantasy drama can provide.