Anybody who knows me will know that one of my favourite films of all time and one that I am constantly on a shoebox about being not only one of the most underrated films ever, but frankly one of the greatest – is Andrew Haigh’s masterpiece 45 Years. So whenever Haigh returns to film, which is not frankly as often as one would like, there is an overwhelming sense of anticipation, especially when in this case he is returning to the relationship drama that made 45 Years so exceptional. However what separates those two films so beautifully is the way in which All of us Strangers is a film so very much about the ultimate release of interior emotions and the bold strength of tears, whereas the arc of my beloved 45 Years is to view Charlotte Rampling implode.
Adapting from a novel with many differences from Taichi Yamada, Haigh has made a film that falls into the same description that I sometimes give 45 Years in that is in an unconventional ghost story – and that is the last time I will mention that film, I swear. Haigh brings to us the character of Adam who is simultaneously engaging in a burgeoning romance with another man of a different generation in his block of flats, whilst engaging with the ghosts of his parents who both died tragically young. Haigh is natural in his unfolding of these heavy and almost cosmic narrative beats, never once choosing to explain or tire an audience with concepts beyond the practicalities of what is actually happening before them. Painting with his cinematographer Jamie Ramsay a world of neon’s and a blending of space-esque lighting with the very tangible and human realities of the past. Visually there is actually a lot more naturalistic photography with the fantastical scenes of Adam with the ghosts of the his family compared to what on the surface we are presented to as scenes of his normal life when he is away from them. Magic realism is such an incredibly hard thing to handle effectively and when people think of successful examples, my go-to is always Martin Landau becoming involved with a family dinner of his past in Woody Allen’s masterpiece Crimes and Misdemeanours, and in style and form All of us Strangers is effectively that scene for the majority of a feature film and is just as successful. Overall Haigh’s writing is sublime in every scene, managing with each interaction to bring a new devastating truth to bare or a new heady cosmic notion, this is a film where normal people discuss the afterlife, time and space and it never once feels overly intellectualised or naively philosophical. Haigh’s screenplay is masterful for this reason alone, but has so much more to offer that sustain its greatness.
This is however
a film with a quartet of astounding performances. Truly, truly astounding. As
the parents of Adam, both Claire Foy and Jamie Bell are terrific, both in such
different and delicate ways, with them both receiving extended scenes that tear
our hearts out in different ways. Foy in particular however does such an
incredible job of a ghost coming to terms with the world around here and her
grown son, it’s truly complex and riveting work. But Bell too perhaps with a
slightly less complex role in regards to the overall cosmic nature of the film
still has perhaps the heartbreaker of all heartbreakers when it comes to his
specific delivery of a line. Paul Mescal is of course everybody’s favourite
current sad boy, but here he gives a more charismatic performance and frankly more
believable romance than his famous turn in Normal People, with a role of
both incredible tenderness and pain – even if
did get a jump scare on a recent interview when he ‘alleged’ that his
character was from Leeds. It is Andrew Scott however who portrays Adam and is
the central force that the film rotates upon and it is with Adam that Scott
delivers a career defining performance, for as much as his verbally dextrous
villains or his pompous asses of the past are devilishly enjoyable (and no less
successful performances) with Adam such a powerhouse of emotion is delivered scene
after scene, in new and developed ways that alter and adapt time and time again.
Scott is the central masterful force that is the engine for another Haigh
masterpiece.
Haigh delivers another perfect 10/10. This is perhaps not my favourite Haigh film but it does feel at points like a thesis statement for much of his other works, mainly in the sense of absolute sincerity. The masterstroke of this film for me personally is that I have not seen a film in a very long time that manages with such strength and conviction to display such immense outward emotionality and fantastical elements without once tilting its hand. This is a film about true, blue affection and love in all its forms and never once shies from that. And with Scott, Foy, Bell and Mescal offering a trio of incredible turns in service of (with Scott) one of the best leading turns of the year, the combination in the final result is undeniable.
VAGUE SPOILER P.S. I’ve seen varied opinions on whether or not the ultimate ending of this film a step too far into misery, however for me it worked beautifully in the overall tragedy of the piece and the manner in which time after time life and hopeful engagements with others do not end up in a perfect bow. It was a horrid and deeply saddening ending, but no less one that undermined the rest of the story being told, and one that for me was the ultimate emotional resolution that the story needed.
- - Thomas Carruthers
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