Movie Number 5 of 2024
The Movie: All of Us Strangers
The Cinema: The Rivoli, Camberwell
Stars: 5
The Oscar Nominations are coming out on Tuesday. The BAFTA nominations were out a few days ago. This film has scored six nominations of the latter, and I reckon it will get a few Oscar nods. It's really that good. It's strange. But it's VERY, VERY good.
This small four-hander of a British film punches well above its weight.
Adam (the astounding Adam Scott), a screenwriter, lives in a near-empty apartment building in the outskirts of London. One night, he is approached by his mysterious neighbour Harry (Paul Mescal). Coinciding with this strange meeting, he is also drawn back to his childhood home, where his long dead parents appear to be living, just as they were, on the day they died.
Sound strange? It is. But in a very good way.
What you need to know about this film, first and foremost, is that it is a meditation on grief. What would it be like to have discussions with your long-dead parents thirty years after they died. I reckon it would be something like this. Adam, an openly gay man in modern Britain gets to talk about his life with his Mum (Claire Foy) and Dad (Jamie Bell). And yes, it's strange.
The house and costumes when Adam is around his parents, is spot on. Yes, we dressed like that in the 80's - there is one very effective scene where Scott dons a pair of kid's pyjamas. It's priceless.
Back in real time, Adam and Harry's relationship moves forward, as you learn more details about Adam and his parents.
And that is all I will say about the plot.
What I can tell you is this is some of England's finest actors at their very best. Every performance is pitch-perfect. Andrew Haigh's screenplay and direction are near perfect. The film has been adapted from Taichi Yamada's book, Strangers. It's an exercise in understatement.
My favourite bits of the film were set in Adam's parents house, where he's trying to rationalise his life to his folks. (Dad: I always knew you were one of them. You couldn't throw a ball to save your life. )
The soundtrack, consisting of mostly eighties bangers keeps the film perfectly grounded. A number of songs by Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Fine Young Cannibals, put you back in the clubs of the 80s. It's familiar territory.
The more I am reading about this, the more I see what a labour of love this is for Andrew Haigh.
It is a wonderful look at long-standing grief. It also doesn't have a linear plot, but it does have some of the best acting you're likely to see in a while, a killer script and amazing music. I'm just not sure about what awards it might win as it's such a strong year for movies.
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