Andrew Haigh’s adaptation of Taichi Yamada’s 1987 novel ‘Strangers’ is a masterclass in storytelling, nostalgia, and being alone. With only four characters, it feels like there aren’t enough people to tell a story like this but Haigh proves that theory wrong with intimate dialogue and beautiful cinematography. In her welcome statement ahead of the Headline Gala screening of All of Us Strangers at Royal Festival Hall on October 8th, Kristy Matheson, London Film Festival director, boldly claimed this film would be one of the best you will ever see in your life and it would seem she was completely right.

In a film all about missed opportunities, we follow Adam (Andrew Scott) a struggling screenwriter living in a near empty high-rise block of flats on a journey through memories, nostalgia, and impossibilities. The only other occupant of this building is Harry (Paul Mescal) an illusive neighbour whom Adam only really notices after a fire alarm goes off in their building. Later that night, Harry turns up at Adam’s door very drunk, offering to share his whiskey with him and this is the first glimpse at the immense chemistry between Scott and Mescal onscreen. With Harry being overtly forward in his advances and Adam being timid and withdrawn – likely due to internalised shame – the two seem like an unlikely match but perhaps this breath of fresh air is exactly the interaction Adam needs.

After Adam declines his offer of whiskey (and anything else on offer) he finds himself at a loose end and decides to look at old family photos. Set to the background of Pet Shop Boys, he revels in the memory of his parents who tragically died in a car crash when he was twelve. Prompted by nostalgia and longing, Adam decides to travel to his childhood home and wander around his hometown in somewhat of a daze, perhaps imagining what could have been had he been given more time which means when his father (Jamie Bell) appears in the woods and leads him back home, it’s hard to tell whether he is hallucinating or this is really happening. Adam finds his mother (Claire Foy) waiting for him and his father at home and he is transported back to 1987. This gives Adam an opportunity, no matter how brief, to tell his parents everything he never got a chance to, ask them questions he never got the answer to, and simply be with them for more time than he was ever allowed.

Adam is lonely and he is choosing to be with the people he loves and misses the most, and this prompts him to try and make amends with Harry and a tender and passionate relationship begins between them. A poignant theme throughout is that of queerness and how queer identity has changed over time. When Adam comes out to his Mum, she is still stuck in 1987, worried about the AIDS crisis, what the neighbours might think, and if he is lonely. Yet, when Harry checks whether Adam is ‘queer’ Adam responds that he uses gay rather than queer because he still thinks of it as an insult when for Harry, that’s what ‘gay’ was for him during his childhood. It’s during these moments that the repetition of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s ‘The Power of Love’ hits even harder. This song seems to be a soundtrack to Adam’s life and what hurts most is that he has never found anyone to love or really love him past the age of 12. Loneliness and loss is a prominent theme throughout the film and Haigh’s script combines laugh out loud moments with absolutely devastating conversations about love and loss. The emotion builds throughout the film as Adam becomes more intertwined with his parents and Harry, perpetuating his confused state between what is real and what isn’t and yet these are moments where we truly see Adam happy for the first time. 

What is billed as a modern day ghost story, All of Us Strangers instead offers up a tender and devastating look at how loneliness and missed opportunities can lead to an empty life. Haigh’s dialogue and cinematography are complimented by four incredible performances given by the film’s cast and it is quite possibly a film I will think about for the rest of my life.