Apologies for last week but I was travelling on holiday and did not have a chance to write. Now I am back.
All of Us Strangers: Andrew Scott stars along with Paul Mescal in this 2023 release. Claire Foy co-stars along with Jamie Bell.
Andrew Scott is one of the most versatile actors these days. He seems to be able to pivot from various roles and be effective in each of them. From Bond, to Sherlock, recently released Ripley then also Fleabag.
He plays a screenwriter named Adam living in London. He lives alone in a condo that is sparsely populated and has a neighbour who makes an unusual proposition for him. He declines.
He begins a stroll down memory lane. The audience isn’t quite clear as to how much of his journey is real or imagined. He had dredged up some photographs in his possessions safely stored away under his bed. This is a movie about Adam’s relationships and not about his career.
He reconsiders the neighbour and they have a tryst. Turns out that he is gay but they discuss “queer” being a more elegant description.
From there Adam continues his stroll down memory lane. We learn more as he revisits this past, wwith a short train ride used to transport him into to memories. But are they just memories? There is no explanation as to these travels. Without disclosing too much, the travels allow for a discussion of attitudes of the past and then present day about various ideas but mainly about being gay (back in the 1980s until present day). Perception and memories are very interesting and they are explored. Imagine speaking to someone and having a conversation with them in real time and seeing them, and hearing them with their full selves. How different might the reality be from how you had imagined it?
Then this story goes deeper. The present and the past collide. Discussions are held that are heartfelt and real. Scott shows a range of emotion to bring this story to life for Adam. So much is revealed in his face and moments when he says very little.
I really enjoyed this. This movie asks, fundamentally, how much do we really know one another? Even those who raised us and were there for us from the day we started our journey on this planet. How much can we anticipate for our actions today that we think are seemingly meant to help us and heal us? In the end none of us is promised another day.
Mondays With Robbie 