All of Us Strangers * * * * ½

All of us strangers and an even stranger situation. 

Andrew Haigh is the  English writer/director who gave us the extraordinary 45 Years, so we know he's good!

His latest film All of Us Strangers is adapted from a Japanese novel, but set in the UK.  

It took me a while to get into it, but as it progressed my sense of intrigue grew, and as it dawned on me as to what was actually happening here, I was not only thoroughly engaged but I was just about ready to squirt a few tears especially in the final scenes.  

Like 45 Years, it serves us an ending that is subtle but so impactful you won't easily forget it.

Adam (Andrew Scott) is a writer living alone in a large apartment block.  He seems to be struggling, having written little more than the opening line - writers block and all that. 

One of the other tenants in the apartment block (the only other tenant) Harry (Paul Mescal) introduces himself. Like Adam, Harry is gay. They are soon getting along just fine.

We are not sure what Adam is writing about but he takes a nostalgic trip to his childhood home.  

It's hard to tell you too much about this beautiful film without giving spoilers.  The plot is such an  intricate weave, I feel if l pull one thread the whole thing will fall apart!  But to give you some insight, let me ask you a question:

Have you ever wanted to return to your childhood home as an adult and see it as it were when you were a child? The furniture, your bedroom, the many items and most of all your parents, just as they were then?

I know All of Us Strangers is not the first film to give us such a scenario but the way it handles the impossible situation is absent of explanation.  It simply happens for Adam. It does not seem like a dream sequence. He is not shocked or excited. We do not sense this is Adam's over excited imagination.  It just happens.

Afterward Adam gets back on the train and returns to his apartment and to Harry.  Ah yes, Harry, his new boyfriend.  What's happening there? With the two of them nightclubbing, partying like animals and sharing their lives and their thoughts.  

Once again Adam returns again to his childhood home. It's pouring rain. The door is open for him to enter. It's time to have a long talk with Dad....  The questions, especially as to what happened on a particular night when Adam found himself alone in the world and an orphan at twelve. 

Then its back to Harry who Adam is now seriously in love with. He wants to show him off. "Come with me", he says.  And so Harry does, but the whole experience when they arrive is alarmingly different. 

It's a film of unresolved childhood pain, grief and loss, where all is mysteriously brought to the surface absent of explanatory devices. 

Despite its robust plot it is also delicate, so that one is at risk to share more without spoiling it. And there are some very powerful scene in  this film which I would love to talk about.

It's probably best if you just go see it.  You'll be glad if you haven't read too much beforehand when you do.