Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy and Jamie Bell star We are all strangers, by Andrew Haig, writer and producer of the excellent series Look from HBO.
One evening, Adam (Andrew Scott) meets his neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal). The two men like each other and it doesn't take long before a romantic relationship begins. At the same time, Adam, who lost his parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell) as a child, sees them again in their suburban home, as when they were alive. And these “real” memories become an opportunity for Adam to show his parents who he is.
All of Us Strangers is reminiscent of Looking because of the vulnerability of the characters and is a very free and personal adaptation of Strangers, a novel published in 1987 by the Japanese Taichi Yamada. Andrew Haig decided to bring Adam's parents to life in the 1980s to deal with such serious issues as the conservatism of the Thatcher years or the AIDS epidemic.
If the two leads are excellent, it is Claire Foy who is fascinating. The actress, who recently starred as a young Elizabeth II in the Netflix series “The Crown,” perfectly embodies the prejudiced mother of the 1980s under an understanding and welcoming exterior. Jamie Bell is also perfect as a father; he also adheres to principles from another time. One of his conversations with Adam is reminiscent of the final scene between Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and his father (Michael Stuhlbarg) in the unforgettable “Call Me by Your Name.” .
Simultaneously intimate, nostalgic, hesitant, affirming, dreamlike and supernatural, All of Us Strangers unfolds over the course of 105 minutes into an almost sensual experience that will captivate members of the LGBTQ+ community living in the 1980s… and that haunts me for a long time afterwards.
“All of Us Strangers” will be showing in theaters across the province starting January 5th.
Rating: 4 out of 5