All of Us Strangers
WARNING SPOILERS
Get your tissues ready to start your year with this heart wrenching romance that depicts grief and loneliness in it's purest form. Originally based on the Japanese novel, Strangers; by Taichi Yamada, the movie came to our screens on 26 January. Director Andrew Haigh, dives into the two lives of Adam, screenwriter played by Andrew Scott and Harry, Adam’s neighbour played by Paul Mescal.
The story introduces both main characters after one night in a near empty block in London after a fire alarm is set off. After gazing up at the desolate building Adam spots Harry in the window. Harry, the mysterious neighbour, introduces himself to Adam and slowly starts to intertwine his life into his, leading the two of them to form a romantic relationship. Meanwhile throughout the film Adam is drawn back and forth to his childhood home, living a life with his parents. Little do we realise everything is not what it seems. This isn’t the only thing that starts to uncover. Meanwhile we know that they sadly passed thirty years ago which becomes hard to decipher what is real and is not.
As a first impression of seeing the trailer as a fan of Paul Mescal I was without a doubt always going to watch this film. Watching the trailer compared to watching the film the impression I got was two completely different films. I thought it was going to be a mystery romance film. I was very wrong, but not disappointed. This film has so many aspects that need to be spoken about from loneliness, grief, sexuality and love.
What I liked about this film is that it felt like you were understood and that the director and creators of this film knew how it felt to experience grief and the borders of sexuality. Starting off with grief. Firstly, grief is different for everyone and to make an audience feel the same about such a broad topic that I think that is not openly spoken about is a very powerful subject to show. The attention to detail with patterns of Adams behavioural traits and attachment issues to Harry was important throughout.
Throughout the film everything clicked together like a puzzle which for myself I loved because the meaning of it made it all the more special. For example in a scene when Adam has a conversation with his mother, played by Claire Foy about being openly gay. Here in this scene signs of her existence being long gone. As over 30 years ago the old opinion of gay relationships within the older generation are portrayed through her, giving you hints that his parents are ghosts. Although you do know this at the start of the film as Adam openly tells Harry he lost his parents in a car crash, you never know what to believe. With Adam having these conversations it gave closure that I think we all wish we could have with our past family members we have lost. In this case it was closure that Adam essentially needed to move on along with his blossoming love with Harry.
As the film moves on it was touching to see parts of Adam’s inner child going back by being in his old bedroom, wearing his little pyjamas and crawling into bed with his parents. It gave the sense that he lost a lot of time as a child that he has craved for so long linking in with the fact that he hasn't moved on.
Sexuality is a huge part running through this film. As a person who hasn't felt those feelings it was incredible to learn on an emotional level of what, in this case, gay men feel struggling in society. It made you feel educated in an emotional way and the link between loneliness made it so powerful to understand because as humans we all are aware of these struggles what people face. But in this case you felt like you lived it watching the movie. Even though Adam and Harry’s stories through their sexuality are different in ways, their similarities pull them together. Harry displaying family struggles of being accepted by his family and his own insecurities around it was touching. Whereas Adam not having a family network brought hints of loneliness which is understood from both men throughout.
Another massive part that made the film special is the music. The craft of pulling the heart strings for sure was using “The Power of Love” by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Using this made the connections to the meanings of the film even more moving. The symbolism of Adam losing his parents on Christmas Eve linking with their music video of this song as a religious nativity and of course the band members being openly gay within the AIDS epidemic. Last of all, one of the first lines Harry says to Adam: “Keep the vampires from your door” linking with “The Power of Love” lyrics and determining the demons Harry is facing too.
This film has many ups and downs. It isn't all sad. As the film goes on everything starts to come together and at the end you realise what is actually Adam’s reality. This is where it hit hard. The diner scene and finding Harry. These two moments made you feel a great loss for Adam but you also feel hopeful for him and that he will move on circulating back to Harry and Adam together once again with the stars. Altogether this is a beautiful story that brings out human emotion in a way I have never seen before and would recommend to people who have loved and most of all lost.
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