There are films that when you watch them leave you scratching your head. Or thinking about them days afterward. All of Us Strangers is one of those kinds of films. It’s an existential journey through love and kindness with a non-linear narrative structure. That’s saying a lot, I know. Andrew Haigh the director is purposely keeping viewers guessing on what exactly is really going on.

Adam (Andrew Scott) is a screenwriter and lives in a highrise in London, England. There aren’t many people that live there yet, but there’s a man, Harry (Paul Mescal) who lives a few floors below him. After a chance encounters they develop a relationship with one another. They get along with one another quite quickly, but this has a weird aftereffect for Adam. He reconnects with his past life, namely his parents played by Jamie Bell and Claire Foy, and the home he left years before. 

This film based on the novel by Taichi Yamada has been getting a lot of buzz out of TIFF. Haigh has adapted this story pretty close to the source material. The script is a main part of how this story unfolds. It keeps the audience in suspense the entire runtime. It’s one of the strongest aspects of the film. I haven’t seen a story quite like this one before. Even though there has been at least one film that had similar themes it’s vastly different in its tone than that one. 

Andrew Scott has also been getting a lot of awards buzz for his performance in the movie. He definitely deserves all the love he can get. He normally plays mostly unlikable characters in his past so it’s a nice change of pace for him in this film. He plays the character as very tender and emotional. Both with Mascal’s character and especially when he interacts with his parents. The script calls for this but it’s also good direction, Haigh, to get him to go here with the character. This is a great role to show how good Scott is. He absolutely shines in this role. He is a definite Oscar contender for Best Actor.

The other three performances are good as well but they are just here to support the work Scott is doing and what the script suggests they do. These three actors are put in these situations to make the main character look stronger and they do just that. They also each bring their own gravitas to these smaller parts. They could be thrown away but because they are all quality actors that respect this material they bring all of what they have learned in their careers. These are the epitome of what supporting roles are supposed to do. Support the main character. 

The filmmaking style in this film leaves me wanting more. Haigh had a lot of close-ups but as I mentioned in the previous paragraphs it’s all part of the performances of the four main actors. The camera work is exceptional by Jamie Wright but it doesn’t give away the twist that this movie is hiding in plain sight. The natural light from the sun helps accentuate some of the indoor scenes. Scenes at night in dark rooms weren’t as well lit but these choices might have been for a reason.  They are trying to make the scenes difficult to understand. That’s the point though.

When I walked out of All of Us Strangers I was scratching my head. What exactly did I just watch? As the hours have passed I have had more time to contemplate what I just watched. Haigh did a stellar job adapting the source material. He wanted people to think about what they just watched. That was his goal. With the great performance from Scott and the others, I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. I was hanging on every word of dialogue and every emotion and thing that Scott’s character was doing. To see if I could get a glimpse of the true nature of this story.  That’s what makes a good movie. A film that makes you think about it long after you’ve seen it. This is going to be one of those films for a lot of people. It’s going to be a good conundrum.  Scott deserves al of his Awards attention no matter what people may think of the overall movie.

3 1/2 stars

Dan Skip Allen