All of Us Strangers: As Good As It Gets

I just watched this and have so much to say, BUT this is not so much a review. as just me thinking out loud about a movie that . . . well, destroyed me sounds about right.  

So, Movie fans: Do you like ghost stories? Do you like sad stories? Do you like films that leave you with more questions at the end than you had at the beginning? Are stories that are mercurial, confusing, illusive and open to interpretation up your alley? If so, Andrew Haigh's All of Us Strangers is the movie you need to see.  Right away.  

Haigh is one of those queer directors whose work, although generally centered on gay stories, transcends genre and speaks to us all as humans. Lonely, hopeful, wondering, wandering, vulnerable, and not-as-tough as we think, humans. I've liked everything I've seen, but All Of Us Strangers, goes straight to the top. I will argue that it is as masterful a piece of filmmaking as anything being nominated for all the other awards. An indisputable masterpiece, every element of Haigh's project is perfection: the script, the cast and their acting, the lighting, the balances between what is real and what is dreamed or imagined, the music . . . all of it comes together like a symphony of perfect parts.  

And speaking of symphonies, Haigh takes us on a voyage that immediately brought me to mind of two works: Richard Danielpour's Symphony No. 3: Journey Without Distance, and the work which inspired it: Helen Schucman's, massive (1400 pages)  A Course In Miracles. A Course in Miracles is a metaphysical, spiritual journey that teaches the power of  transformation through healing relationships, asserting that the greatest miracle is the act of simply gaining a full awareness of love's presence in a human life. Schucman tells us - reassures us:

The journey to God is merely the reawakening
Of the knowledge of where you are always and what you are forever.
It is a journey without distance
To a goal that has never changed.
What was a place of death
Has now become a living temple
In a world of light.

Her words began ringing through my head once I realized what the movie was about. Of the story at its heart I will synopsize it simply: Adam, a mid-40's screenwriter, gay, and a loner, has never gotten over the death of his parents when he was 11. Living in a sterile new, near empty apartment tower he meets Harry, also alone in this same purgatory-like residence. It's awkward, Harry is needy and Adam shuts him out. After looking through some souvenirs of his childhood, Adam sets out, wanders, following a man through a field (Elysian Fields?) and the man turns out  to be his dead father, now younger than himself. Dad takes Adam home and the family is reunited, catching up, sharing memories and secrets. The re-established unit continues meeting throughout the film, as Adam, attempting to let down his guard, also lets in and establishes a relationship with Harry.  

The performances of the four principals are flawless. Absolutely.  Andrew Scott (who I first met as the brilliant, twisted, Moriarty in Sherlock ) captures every essence of  the lonely soul that is Adam. Filled with doubt, confused about his importance or relevance in the world, downplaying every aspect of his life . . . it all bleeds marvelously through. His face and physicality speak volumes.

Paul Mescal's Harry, with a near identical agenda, is even more wounded, but wears his heart upon his sleeve - ("for daws to peck at" as Iago would say). Both men have smiles that make a grown person want to cry . . . for so much is revealed through their silence and faces. 

Clare Foy as Mom, is a middle class product of her time, from her hairstyle and jewelry down to her seeming reluctance to embrace her grown son's gayness. It's quickly established this is not rejection, but rather born of a mother's fear of the difficult road ahead for her child . . . a world of prejudice, homophobia, AIDS and loneliness. Adam is able to reassure her the world has changed since then.

Never getting the credit he deserves Jamie Bell has nonetheless established himself as one of the finest actors on screen we have.  His work here as Dad, so different from the last films I've seen him in, is practically a masterclass in subtlety creating a man who is truly proud of his boy, even as he is ashamed for feeling he was not the father he knew he should have been. Bell's work here is noble . . . heartbreaking. 

If you've not seen it, that's all you really need to know. If you have seen it, you're going to want to find a friend to have a coffee with for a few hours of conversation to explore every facet, of this wondrous little movie. Even though it's 2024, I've adjusted my Top Movies of 2023, to put All Of Us Strangers near the very top.  It's that good.