A screenwriter drawn back to his childhood home enters into a fledgling relationship with his downstairs neighbor while discovering a mysterious new way to heal from losing his parents 30 ye... Read allA screenwriter drawn back to his childhood home enters into a fledgling relationship with his downstairs neighbor while discovering a mysterious new way to heal from losing his parents 30 years ago.A screenwriter drawn back to his childhood home enters into a fledgling relationship with his downstairs neighbor while discovering a mysterious new way to heal from losing his parents 30 years ago.
- Nominated for 6 BAFTA Awards
- 30 wins & 109 nominations total
Cameron Ashplant
- Teen
- (uncredited)
Lincoln R. Beckett
- Gay Bar Goer
- (uncredited)
Jack Cronin
- Teen
- (uncredited)
Christian Di Sciullo
- Shopper
- (uncredited)
Oliver Franks
- Lover
- (uncredited)
Hussein Kutsi
- Taxi Driver
- (uncredited)
Gsus Lopez
- Club goer
- (uncredited)
Jack Pallister
- Dancer
- (uncredited)
Guy Robbins
- Shopper
- (uncredited)
Darren Ryames
- Passerby
- (uncredited)
Zachary Timmis
- Teen
- (uncredited)
Sean Tizzard
- Dad on train
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAndrew Haigh's childhood home served as the filming location for the house in which Adam finds his parents.
- GoofsAndrew Scott's character grew up in Croydon until the age of 12 with both parents having English accents, yet he speaks with an Irish (Dublin) accent.
It's explained in the film why Adam has an Irish accent. He went to live with his grandmother in Dublin at the age of 12 after his parents died in the car accident. He later moved to London as an adult.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Project: Episode dated 2 February 2024 (2024)
- SoundtracksShe Who Dares (Big Band Original)
Performed by Colman Brothers
Written by Andrew Colman and Matthew Colman
Published by Cacophony Ltd.
Courtesy of Colman Brothers
Featured review
All of Us Strangers is one of the most tender love stories put to film in recent memory and a frightening number of people will choose not to see it because it is a gay one at that. Just thought I'd disclose this aspect upfront so that only the worthy stick around for this read. We good? Good.
Directed by Andrew Haigh (45 Years) and based in part on the Taichi Yamada novel Strangers, this movie tells of a reclusive London-based screenwriter named Adam (Andrew Scott of Fleabag and Sherlock) who lives in an all-too-quiet apartment building where the only other living soul appears to be the oft-drunk Harry (Paul Mescal of Aftersun), who begins to act flirtily towards him. As you may have guessed, the two eventually bond and fall in love, even as Adam finds Harry a bit mysterious at first and, partly due to what he was taught re: sexuality as a youngster, isn't as comfortable with intimate touch -- initially.
Sheila O'Malley put it best when she wrote that All of Us Strangers, almost immediately, has a "surreal, almost supernatural atmosphere". I don't know how much I ought to give away, but I can tell you it's not for naught. When I say that the apartment building seems strangely quiet, I mean it seems almost unearthly; it is no surprise that the posters make use of the almost entirely dark building where only two windows are lit up -- it is an image that sets the tone.
All the same, love is discovered in this setting (this connection, taking place in an eerie realm where connections at first seem impossible, recalls 2015's Anomalisa in a lot of ways) and it isn't long before our hearts are grabbed and then broken. This oft-surreal film is nonetheless very much, devastatingly real.
Adam is also troubled by thoughts about his parents (Jamie Bell; Claire Foy) as he keeps revisiting his (ostensibly) abandoned childhood home. He has a series of dreams (or are they dreams?) where he goes through the conversations he wishes he'd had -- the sort of conversations that frankly a lot of people, be they gay children of traditionally-minded parents or not, wish they'd had with their folks; the sort of conversations we typically don't get around to before it's too late, resorting to having them in our heads, sometimes in the form of revisiting moments and trying against all logic to rewrite them.
These sequences exemplify some of the best and most emotionally honest acting of the past year. It is one of those films that make you realize how good other films aren't, particularly those of the romance variety that too often settle for tried routines and formulas while rarely doing anything stylistically intriguing or letting the actors be truly vulnerable. (I'm aware, painfully so, that that's what the crowds want; the statement I heard from a rom-com fan in high school, that "film is about hot people and satisfying endings", still echoes in my mind.)
On a similar note: as many viewers of British/English cinema will point out, this one sticks out with its artful compositions (note especially its usage of mirrors and windows), dreamlike editing, deliberate color choices, and occasional magical realism. This isn't a first or anything, but it seems we often associate English film with gritty realism -- think This is England or Billy Elliot. I assure you, though, that the English are quite capable of outstanding visual communication. There are edits and framing/blocking choices in All of Us Strangers that cut even deeper than that one "reveal" in 45 Years. If you know, you know.
Oh and of course, as a long-time fan of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, I can't forget to mention how the film uses their 1984 album Beyond the Pleasuredome, particularly their best song "The Power of Love", as a reoccurring motif; a devastating one. The music video is also referenced, in ways I cannot reveal here. Best you go see this wonderful picture before I say too much.
And remember: let yourself be beautiful.
Directed by Andrew Haigh (45 Years) and based in part on the Taichi Yamada novel Strangers, this movie tells of a reclusive London-based screenwriter named Adam (Andrew Scott of Fleabag and Sherlock) who lives in an all-too-quiet apartment building where the only other living soul appears to be the oft-drunk Harry (Paul Mescal of Aftersun), who begins to act flirtily towards him. As you may have guessed, the two eventually bond and fall in love, even as Adam finds Harry a bit mysterious at first and, partly due to what he was taught re: sexuality as a youngster, isn't as comfortable with intimate touch -- initially.
Sheila O'Malley put it best when she wrote that All of Us Strangers, almost immediately, has a "surreal, almost supernatural atmosphere". I don't know how much I ought to give away, but I can tell you it's not for naught. When I say that the apartment building seems strangely quiet, I mean it seems almost unearthly; it is no surprise that the posters make use of the almost entirely dark building where only two windows are lit up -- it is an image that sets the tone.
All the same, love is discovered in this setting (this connection, taking place in an eerie realm where connections at first seem impossible, recalls 2015's Anomalisa in a lot of ways) and it isn't long before our hearts are grabbed and then broken. This oft-surreal film is nonetheless very much, devastatingly real.
Adam is also troubled by thoughts about his parents (Jamie Bell; Claire Foy) as he keeps revisiting his (ostensibly) abandoned childhood home. He has a series of dreams (or are they dreams?) where he goes through the conversations he wishes he'd had -- the sort of conversations that frankly a lot of people, be they gay children of traditionally-minded parents or not, wish they'd had with their folks; the sort of conversations we typically don't get around to before it's too late, resorting to having them in our heads, sometimes in the form of revisiting moments and trying against all logic to rewrite them.
These sequences exemplify some of the best and most emotionally honest acting of the past year. It is one of those films that make you realize how good other films aren't, particularly those of the romance variety that too often settle for tried routines and formulas while rarely doing anything stylistically intriguing or letting the actors be truly vulnerable. (I'm aware, painfully so, that that's what the crowds want; the statement I heard from a rom-com fan in high school, that "film is about hot people and satisfying endings", still echoes in my mind.)
On a similar note: as many viewers of British/English cinema will point out, this one sticks out with its artful compositions (note especially its usage of mirrors and windows), dreamlike editing, deliberate color choices, and occasional magical realism. This isn't a first or anything, but it seems we often associate English film with gritty realism -- think This is England or Billy Elliot. I assure you, though, that the English are quite capable of outstanding visual communication. There are edits and framing/blocking choices in All of Us Strangers that cut even deeper than that one "reveal" in 45 Years. If you know, you know.
Oh and of course, as a long-time fan of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, I can't forget to mention how the film uses their 1984 album Beyond the Pleasuredome, particularly their best song "The Power of Love", as a reoccurring motif; a devastating one. The music video is also referenced, in ways I cannot reveal here. Best you go see this wonderful picture before I say too much.
And remember: let yourself be beautiful.
- TheVictoriousV
- Jan 30, 2024
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Strangers
- Filming locations
- 151 Purley Downs Road, South Croydon, Croydon, London, England, UK(Adam's parents' house)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,050,103
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $117,965
- Dec 24, 2023
- Gross worldwide
- $20,226,058
- Runtime1 hour 45 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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