heartbreaking story portrays parental loss and queer identity
Recently, my friends and I watched the new movie All of Us Strangers. The film was released on December 22, 2023 and stars Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy and Jamie Bell. It takes place in the 80s and a relationship between Harry (Mescal) and Adam (Scott) develops. The movie is very lonely, which could be due to the intense feelings of Adam’s sadness and the small cast of Adam’s family and Harry.
In the beginning, viewers see how isolated Adam is — although he is a main character, it feels as though parts of him are unknown and secret. When he finally leaves his apartment, it’s an eerie trip on the train to go and visit his parent’s house where he grew up. It’s confusing to see Adam determine which house is his parent’s as he compares houses to a black and white photo. When he gets there, it’s even more baffling when he is greeted by his parents and they’re the same age as him, if not slightly younger.
The most gut-wrenching aspect of the movie is Adam’s connection to his parents. As the plot develops, it’s determined that his parents had passed away in a car accident when he was a young child. Despite the fact that Adam seeing his dead parents is very concerning, it gives him the opportunity to connect with his parents and explain to them how his life has turned out. The main aspect of Adam’s life that he shares with his parents is the fact that he is gay.
In the rest of All of Us Strangers, we see the reactions of Adam’s parents to his coming out and his new life. Though this scene has been done time and time before, the performances by Adam’s parents were astonishing and the issues that were presented in the conversation involved aspects of being gay that aren’t usually seen on screen, including Adam’s deep fear of being lonely and not finding a stable relationship.
Overall, this film was incredible and it put me in a trance after the twist ending. It made me question the validity of Adam’s perspective and the timeline of all events. Can you even trust any conversations that he had? Can you trust what he’s saying to Harry? Why are Adam and Harry so isolated? Did the conversations even happen between Adam and his parents? My friends and I were questioning the plot of the movie for the first half an hour and we all had different perspectives, which was very interesting.
I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes an unreliable narrator and wants to question the plot. In addition, this is great for queer people of all ages, especially older people who were never able to talk about their identity to their parents. I will definitely be thinking about this movie for the next while.
