All Of Us Strangers
To be honest, this was a movie I didn’t really understand until halfway in, and that massively affected my viewing experience. I had no idea that the main character, played by Andrew Scott, was having hallucinations about the past. I just thought that he was a bit of a loner, who just got along really well with his parents. Because I wasn’t aware that all of these interactions were just delusions, I thought that the movie just wasn’t interesting. It felt as if every run was moving quite slowly, and I didn’t really see any plot line. To be honest, it was a little annoying to watch. Whilst some may say that the main character’s interactions with his dead parents was a poignant depiction of childhood loss and the long lasting mental effects of it, I would argue the opposite. Again, much like the Zone of Interest, the idea of dealing with childhood loss is something which has been done so impact fully in the past - there was nothing super original about this movie which I can really talk about. This is similar with the consistent theme of hiding queerness and having a first relationship. This whole idea of being liberated by having a relationship is, again, nothing new at all. It was good that the movie was a representation of queer liberation rather than sexual liberation for heterosexual individuals, but again it was a pretty cliched storyline.
I do feel bad for saying it, because I will say this much. Andrew Scott’s acting was pretty phenomenal. It takes a lot of skill to try and strike the balance between illusion and reality, and he did it with a lot of delicacy. Paul Mescal too was phenomenal. He played a supporting role and I originally didn’t get a lot of variety from him - he originally played a typical role which is present in every relationship. He was the character who brings his partner out of his shell despite the fact that he has had to deal with his own side issues. It was the final scene with him in it, however, that was the best by far. The portrayal of guilt after death, the guilt people feel after leaving their loved ones behind is something I have only read about in Victorian poetry, not in modern film.
The only really interesting thing in the movie is unpacking the actual title: 'All Of Us Strangers'. Through the title, there is an indication that everyone is a stranger to each other: in this movie, this is not only explored through relationships with others, but relationships between rationality and irrationality. It is revealed that Scott's character becomes a stranger to his himself, as he struggles with his delusions.
Overall, I can summarize this movie in one sentence. Watch it if you want to see some good acting, but don’t if you want to see a movie with an original, never before seen plot line. Mic drop.
