All of Us Strangers
I am writing this review 6 hours after I watched it. I originally wanted to think on it more, but I decided that a raw response is necessary to such a raw film.
Adam, a screenwriter in London, is attempting to write about his parents who died before his 12th birthday in a car crash. After he evacuates his apartment due to a false alarm, he catches the eye of Harry, another tenant of the building. After initially rebuffing Harry due to his heavy intoxication, Adam starts to open up about his parents to him.
While this is going on, Adam begins traveling to his hometown where he discovers his parents, alive and well, but the same age as they were when they died. They immediately recognize him as their middle aged son, and spend the next several weeks learning about his life after their death while also discovering how he felt as a closeted gay kid in the 1980s.
Who would not want a chance to speak to loved ones who were taken away too soon? Wouldn't one also play and replay conversations that could never be? Adam even tells his mother about how he did that in the years after their deaths, while ironically speaking to a dead woman.
One of the main themes presented is loneliness. Adam was lonely as a kid who could not talk to his parents about either being gay, or about why he was being bullied. Adam was, and still is, lonely after his parents' death. He speaks of failed relationships in such vague terms that one wonders if he had any at all, especially after he admits to Harry that it's been a while since he's been intimate with a man. He continues opening up to Harry, allowing him to be taken out clubbing, dancing and sleeping over.
Another main theme reveals itself in Adam's mental illness, specifically in his coping with depression. He listens to old music from his childhood, specifically The Power of Love by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, shown in the film more than once. He tells stories of himself to Harry, who listens attentively and holds him at night during bad dreams. All the while, he sneaks off to his childhood home, where he continues to speak to his dead parents.
I admit that I had trouble writing the final paragraph of my review. The movie was already emotional throughout its entirety. What happens in the last few minutes completely changed everything. I can't write down what I'm feeling without spoiling the movie. However, I will write that the ending can only be described as stunning and beautiful.
I am writing this review 6 hours after I watched it. I originally wanted to think on it more, but I decided that a raw response is necessary to such a raw film.
Adam, a screenwriter in London, is attempting to write about his parents who died before his 12th birthday in a car crash. After he evacuates his apartment due to a false alarm, he catches the eye of Harry, another tenant of the building. After initially rebuffing Harry due to his heavy intoxication, Adam starts to open up about his parents to him.
While this is going on, Adam begins traveling to his hometown where he discovers his parents, alive and well, but the same age as they were when they died. They immediately recognize him as their middle aged son, and spend the next several weeks learning about his life after their death while also discovering how he felt as a closeted gay kid in the 1980s.
Who would not want a chance to speak to loved ones who were taken away too soon? Wouldn't one also play and replay conversations that could never be? Adam even tells his mother about how he did that in the years after their deaths, while ironically speaking to a dead woman.
One of the main themes presented is loneliness. Adam was lonely as a kid who could not talk to his parents about either being gay, or about why he was being bullied. Adam was, and still is, lonely after his parents' death. He speaks of failed relationships in such vague terms that one wonders if he had any at all, especially after he admits to Harry that it's been a while since he's been intimate with a man. He continues opening up to Harry, allowing him to be taken out clubbing, dancing and sleeping over.
Another main theme reveals itself in Adam's mental illness, specifically in his coping with depression. He listens to old music from his childhood, specifically The Power of Love by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, shown in the film more than once. He tells stories of himself to Harry, who listens attentively and holds him at night during bad dreams. All the while, he sneaks off to his childhood home, where he continues to speak to his dead parents.
I admit that I had trouble writing the final paragraph of my review. The movie was already emotional throughout its entirety. What happens in the last few minutes completely changed everything. I can't write down what I'm feeling without spoiling the movie. However, I will write that the ending can only be described as stunning and beautiful.