All of Us Strangers
{{Short description|2023 film by Andrew Haigh}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox film
| image = All of Us Strangers poster.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Andrew Haigh
| writer = Andrew Haigh
| based_on = {{Based on|Strangers|Taichi Yamada}}
| producer = {{Plainlist|
- Graham Broadbent
- Peter Czernin
- Sarah Harvey
}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
}}
| cinematography = Jamie D. Ramsay
| editing = Jonathan Alberts
| music = Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch
| studio = {{Plainlist|
}}
| distributor = Searchlight Pictures
| released = {{Film date|df=y|2023|8|31|Telluride|2024|1|26|United Kingdom}}
| runtime = 105 minutes{{cite web|url = https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/all-of-us-strangers-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmde2mju0|title = All Of Us Strangers|website = British Board of Film Classification|accessdate = 18 January 2024|archive-date = 27 January 2024|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240127075423/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/all-of-us-strangers-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmde2mju0|url-status = live}}
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget =
| gross = $20.2 million{{Cite web |title=All of Us Strangers |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4171596545/?ref_=bo_da_table_15 |access-date=May 17, 2024 |website=Box Office Mojo |archive-date=19 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119195041/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4171596545/?ref_=bo_da_table_15 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=All of Us Strangers (2023) - Financial Information |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/All-of-Us-Strangers-(2023-United-Kingdom)#tab=summary |website=The Numbers |date=March 25, 2024 |access-date=24 December 2023 |archive-date=28 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240428014412/https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/All-of-Us-Strangers-(2023-United-Kingdom)#tab=summary |url-status=live }}
}}
All of Us Strangers is a 2023 British romantic fantasy film written and directed by Andrew Haigh, and loosely based on the 1987 novel Strangers by Taichi Yamada. It stars Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell, and Claire Foy. The second feature adaptation of the novel, after the Japanese film The Discarnates (1988), the film follows a lonely screenwriter who develops an intimate relationship with his mysterious neighbour while revisiting memories from the past.
All of Us Strangers premiered at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on 31 August 2023, and was released in the United Kingdom by Searchlight Pictures on 26 January 2024. It received critical acclaim, was named one of the top ten independent films of 2023 by the National Board of Review, and earned six BAFTA Award nominations. The film was also named Film of the Year and LGBTQ Film of the Year by GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (Dorian Awards).Coates, Tyler (February 26, 2024) {{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/2024-dorian-film-awards-winners-all-of-us-strangers-1235835491/|title=Dorian Film Awards: ‘All of Us Strangers’ Sweeps Queer Film Critic Honors|website=The Hollywood Reporter}}Hipes, Patrick (February 26, 2024) {{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2024/02/dorian-film-awards-2024-winners-list-1235838582/|title=‘All Of Us Strangers’ Named Film Of The Year To Lead LGBTQ Critics’ Dorian Film Awards|website=TheWrap}}
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.
Harry suddenly appears next to Adam, before he 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, where he suddenly wakes 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 to him the next morning, where 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 a skeptical and alarmed Harry on a trip that night to meet his parents, where 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.
Having accepted the loss of his parents, Adam goes home to see Harry. He enters Harry's flat and notices an awful stench, with drug residue on a table and squalor throughout the flat. Adam finds Harry dead in the bedroom, holding the same whiskey bottle he was drinking on the night they met. Harry has been dead since the night he met Adam, having been an apparition like Adam's parents.
Outside the room, Harry's ghost is distraught and crying, as he did not want Adam to see him as a corpse. Adam assures Harry that everything will be all right, and takes Harry back to his flat. The two lie in bed together, tightly in each other's arms. When Harry asks Adam to play a record, he puts on "The Power of Love" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. The two fade into a small beam of light among stars in the night sky as the screen turns to black.
Cast
- Andrew Scott as Adam
- Carter John Grout as young Adam
- Paul Mescal as Harry
- Jamie Bell as Adam's father
- Claire Foy as Adam's mother
Production
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."{{cite web|url=https://press.searchlightpictures.com/media/ALL_OF_US_STRANGERS_-_Production_Notes_FINAL_e9x0KFF.pdf|title=Production Notes|publisher=Searchlight Pictures|access-date=28 September 2023|archive-date=26 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231226232953/https://press.searchlightpictures.com/media/ALL_OF_US_STRANGERS_-_Production_Notes_FINAL_e9x0KFF.pdf|url-status=dead}}
On 30 June 2022, the film, then known as Strangers, and the principal cast were announced.{{cite news|last1=Hazelton|first1=John|last2=Tabbara|first2=Mona|date=30 June 2022|url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/andrew-haigh-sets-new-feature-strangers-with-andrew-scott-paul-mescal-claire-foy-and-jamie-bell/5172219.article|title=Andrew Haigh sets new feature 'Strangers' with Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy and Jamie Bell|work=Screen Daily|access-date=27 July 2022|archive-date=15 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220715114616/https://www.screendaily.com/news/andrew-haigh-sets-new-feature-strangers-with-andrew-scott-paul-mescal-claire-foy-and-jamie-bell/5172219.article|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite news|last=Peters|first=Fletcher|date=30 June 2022|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/paul-mescal-and-andrew-scott-join-sexy-forces-in-strangers|title=Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott Are Making a Movie Together, But Is It Gay? Hopefully.|work=The Daily Beast|access-date=27 July 2022|archive-date=27 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220727155446/https://www.thedailybeast.com/paul-mescal-and-andrew-scott-join-sexy-forces-in-strangers|url-status=live}}
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.{{cite magazine|last=Canfield|first=David|date=23 August 2023|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/08/all-of-us-strangers-andrew-scott-paul-mescal-first-look-awards-insider|title=Inside All of Us Strangers, Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal's Metaphysical Love Story|magazine=Vanity Fair|access-date=24 August 2023|archive-date=29 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230829064843/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/08/all-of-us-strangers-andrew-scott-paul-mescal-first-look-awards-insider|url-status=live}} Nightclub sequences were shot on location at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern.
Music
{{Main|All of Us Strangers (soundtrack)}}
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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fotogramas.es/noticias-cine/a45453434/paul-mescal-valladolid-all-of-us-strangers-seminci/|website=Fotogramas|date=5 October 2023|first=Manuel|last=D'Ocon|title=¿Paul Mescal en Valladolid?: 'All Of Us Strangers' se convierte en la película estrella de la Seminci|language=es|access-date=9 October 2023|archive-date=23 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023112409/https://www.fotogramas.es/noticias-cine/a45453434/paul-mescal-valladolid-all-of-us-strangers-seminci/|url-status=live}} 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.{{Cite web |title=All of Us Strangers |url=https://qcinema.ph/film/all-of-us-strangers/?fbclid=IwAR1bEjUuMKVTq2loHai68cS-UDiHdfwbG0E8u1zZU5riUp22Gug8vIi6uws |access-date=2023-11-17 |website=QCinema International Film Festival |language=en-US}} It began a limited release in the United States on 22 December 2023 and was released in the United Kingdom on 26 January 2024.{{Cite web |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |date=7 August 2023 |title=Searchlight Dates 'All Of Us Strangers' During Pre-Christmas Frame |url=https://deadline.com/2023/08/searchlight-andrew-scott-paul-mescal-all-of-us-strangers-release-date-1235456463/ |access-date=7 August 2023 |website=Deadline Hollywood |archive-date=7 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230807172956/https://deadline.com/2023/08/searchlight-andrew-scott-paul-mescal-all-of-us-strangers-release-date-1235456463/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Bergeson |first=Samantha |date=2023-08-07 |title=Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott Lead Andrew Haigh's Ghostly Drama 'All of Us Strangers' — First Look |url=https://www.indiewire.com/news/breaking-news/all-of-us-strangers-first-look-paul-mescal-andrew-scott-1234892559/ |access-date=2023-08-07 |website=IndieWire |language=en-US |archive-date=7 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230807142932/https://www.indiewire.com/news/breaking-news/all-of-us-strangers-first-look-paul-mescal-andrew-scott-1234892559/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news|last=Iftikhar|first=Asyia|date=13 September 2023|url=https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/09/13/all-of-us-strangers-uk-release-date-paul-mescal-andrew-scott/|title=Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott's gay romance All of Us Strangers finally gets UK release date|work=PinkNews|access-date=14 September 2023|archive-date=14 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230914045645/https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/09/13/all-of-us-strangers-uk-release-date-paul-mescal-andrew-scott/|url-status=live}}
Reception
= Box office =
In its limited opening weekend, the film made $232,909 from four theaters, a per-venue average of $58,000.{{cite web|last=D'Alessandro|first=Anthony|title='Salaar', 'Dunki' In Top Ten, 'All Of Us Strangers' Sees Solid Debut, 'Poor Things' Aces Expansion – Specialty Box Office|url=https://deadline.com/2023/12/indie-box-office-salaar-dunki-all-of-us-strangers-poor-things-1235681616/|date=December 24, 2023|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=December 24, 2023|archive-date=26 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231226182209/https://deadline.com/2023/12/indie-box-office-salaar-dunki-all-of-us-strangers-poor-things-1235681616/|url-status=live}}{{cite web |last1=Fernandas |first1=George |title=All of Us Strangers review — A Heartbreaking story |url=https://cinematiccentral.com/all-of-us-strangers-review/ |website=Cinematic Central |access-date=30 December 2023 |ref=30 December 2023}}
= Critical response =
File:Andrew Scott TV BAFTAs 2019.png garnered widespread critical acclaim for his performance in the film.]]
{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|96|8.8|267|All of Us Strangers examines profound grief and love through a fantastical lens that is always grounded on human emotion.|access-date=July 7, 2024|ref=y}} {{Metacritic film prose|90|53|ref=yes|access-date=March 19, 2024}} 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."{{cite web | url=https://variety.com/lists/directors-best-films-2023/all-of-us-strangers/ | title=16 Directors Praise 2023's Best Films: Alfonso Cuarón on 'Killers of the Flower Moon,' Jane Campion on 'Priscilla' and More | date=13 December 2023 | access-date=1 January 2024 | archive-date=1 January 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101175016/https://variety.com/lists/directors-best-films-2023/all-of-us-strangers/ | url-status=live }}
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."https://collider.com/fantasy-movies-2020s-best-ranked/
Accolades
The film won 7 awards at the 2023 BIFA Awards, including Best Director and Best Screenplay.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2023/12/british-independent-film-awards-2023winners-list-1235649950/|title=British Independent Film Awards: 'All Of Us Strangers' Sweeps With 7 Wins Including Best Film|website=Deadline|date=December 3, 2023|author=Zac Ntim|access-date=December 3, 2023}}
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes|all_of_us_strangers}}
- {{Metacritic film|all-of-us-strangers}}
{{Andrew Haigh}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for All of Us Strangers
|list =
{{BIFA BestBritishFilm}}
{{Dorian Award for LGBTQ Film of the Year}}
{{London Film Critics Circle Award for British Film of the Year}}
}}
Category:2023 independent films
Category:2023 LGBTQ-related films
Category:2020s English-language films
Category:2020s romantic fantasy films
Category:British LGBTQ-related films
Category:British romantic fantasy films
Category:English-language independent films
Category:English-language romantic fantasy films
Category:Fiction with unreliable narrators
Category:Film4 Productions films
Category:Films about parent–child relationships
Category:Films about screenwriters
Category:Films based on Japanese novels
Category:Films directed by Andrew Haigh
Category:LGBTQ-related fantasy films