Sometimes you want so badly to enjoy a movie, and it just doesn’t work out. Enter “All of Us Strangers.”
The character Adam (Andrew Scott) is at the center of this U.K.-based drama. A writer who resides in London, Adam is in a melancholy state at the start of the film as he finds himself reflecting on the death of his parents who passed away when he was young.
When visiting his childhood home one day, though, by unexplained circumstances, Adam sees his parents as they were just before they died. As he’s reconnecting with his parents, he also meets a new resident in his apartment building who he starts a relationship with.
“All of Us Strangers” is an inviting film, with a plethora of strong emotional, heartfelt moments. At the same time, though, it’s a frustrating experience because of how the film is paced and for its lack of internal consistency. There’s certainly a great tenderness between characters that can draw one in.
However, the film can just as easily lose a viewer. The closer the film gets to its ending, the less sense the movie makes. It’s understandable that the movie is largely a metaphor for dealing with grief and how mourning can linger with a person long after a tragic incident.
Yet the movie wants an audience to acknowledge everything that’s happening on screen as something real and not just symbolic. One wishes there had been more structure to the film’s more fantastical elements and ghostly aspects. As it is, “All of Us Strangers” becomes vexing, especially with the ending.
The way the story unfolds is an issue, too. When a film has two story threads like this one does, they should coincide and complement each other. But in “Strangers,” the build-up between Adam and his neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal), seems out-of-sync with the protagonist reconnecting with his parents.
The relationship as a whole is disappointing as well. There’s not a great deal of chemistry between the two and if feels like their relationship is rarely advancing.
It doesn’t help that there’s a prolonged sequence where the two take drugs, causing Adam to experience some symbolic visuals and dream-like interactions with other characters. It’s ultimately an empty sequence, reiterating what the film has already been saying without moving the narrative forward.
It’s a shame because the acting is really strong across the board with the four lead performers. Scott is great at showing his character’s lingering grief and the contentment he feels from being able to speak with his parents. Claire Foy as Adam’s mother, though, is the big standout, with a stirring portrayal of a woman meeting her grown son for the first time.
The film’s visual identity is also quite good. The colors of the movie are dull and faded often while Adam is at home, and then they’re more vibrant and richer when he’s with his parents, which makes for a good contrast.
The writing by Andrew Haigh, who also directs, is effective in many cases as well. The filmmaker is able to create fascinating scenes where Adam has to come out to his parents after years of not being able to do so. It creates for touching, endearing cinema and Adam explaining his experience as a gay man to his parents moving.
There are scenes in “All of Us Strangers” that really work. These moments are wonderfully written and acted. But the film as a whole is weakened by its inconsistencies related to how the supernatural factors function and by the main relationship not being entirely well executed. 2.5 out of 5.
Matthew Liedke on Film 
Great review! Personally speaking, I really loved this movie. I’m not a huge fan of wrestling at all but I could connect to its strong message about brotherhood. Here’s why I loved the movie so much: https://huilahimovie.reviews/2024/01/24/the-iron-claw-2023-movie-review/
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