I went to see All Of Us Strangers, a metaphysical gay romance starring Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, loosely based on a Japanese novel from 1987. It’s about a lonely writer living in London who discovers he has the ability to visit and talk to his parents, who died in a car crash decades ago.
Just got out of the theatre from seeing this. I thought Haigh scored high again. He works so well with actors, giving them lots of space. Scott was perfect.
You’re right about the character being a cipher with a rather generic pair of parents. That leaves interpretations of motives wide open. It’s the kind of movie that will change on subsequent viewings. I wasn’t even thinking of a cause for the writer’s anxiety, I thought it was just a characteristic. Because I was that anxious kid, and I came of age just as HIV/AIDS emerged (Welcome to the Pleasuredome came out during my graduating year of high school), so I just thought, yeah that happens to people. I didn’t associate with his heteronormativity or any current hobby horses.
But the anxiety did inform his choice at the end, and made it even sadder than the (unsurprising) twist. He finally accepted the loss of his parents only to hang onto a newer different ghost. The fantasy in the comfort, and he’ll only remain isolated and alone for whatever reason.
Just got out of the theatre from seeing this. I thought Haigh scored high again. He works so well with actors, giving them lots of space. Scott was perfect.
You’re right about the character being a cipher with a rather generic pair of parents. That leaves interpretations of motives wide open. It’s the kind of movie that will change on subsequent viewings. I wasn’t even thinking of a cause for the writer’s anxiety, I thought it was just a characteristic. Because I was that anxious kid, and I came of age just as HIV/AIDS emerged (Welcome to the Pleasuredome came out during my graduating year of high school), so I just thought, yeah that happens to people. I didn’t associate with his heteronormativity or any current hobby horses.
But the anxiety did inform his choice at the end, and made it even sadder than the (unsurprising) twist. He finally accepted the loss of his parents only to hang onto a newer different ghost. The fantasy in the comfort, and he’ll only remain isolated and alone for whatever reason.