All of Us Strangers: Wandering through the shadowy labyrinths of melancholy (2023)

[00:00:00] Hi, welcome to Onmanorama Movie Podcast, Start, Action, Cut.

[00:00:17] Today we are decoding the English movie, All of Us Strangers directed by Andrew Haig, based

[00:00:24] on the novel Strangers by Taichi Yamada and starring Andrew Scott and Paul Muskell in the lead.

[00:00:34] Today Swati and Vishnu Priya are joining the discussion. So we have seen the movie and it

[00:00:40] flows like a dream with a powerful story and an equally vibrant screenplay. Swati, what do

[00:00:48] you have to say about the story? Well, Padma Kumar, like you said, the story in itself is

[00:00:53] the standout element of the movie. It's just so wonderful and just so heartbreaking. And I don't

[00:00:58] think there is any point in the movie where you would feel hopeful, but at the same time,

[00:01:04] you realize that things are not going the way you would expect it to. I think while watching

[00:01:10] the movie, nobody would actually anticipate that the movie would take these kinds of turns that

[00:01:14] it took. The stories are nothing like what the kind of stories that we've seen before,

[00:01:20] the imagination, the creativity of the writer has to be appreciated because this person,

[00:01:26] he's in his 40s and he's meeting his parents just like they were when they died. And he's

[00:01:32] having these kind of adult conversations with them. And initially it might seem a little

[00:01:38] bit confusing as to whether he's hallucinating or are they real or are they ghosts even. But

[00:01:45] I think it will take around 10 to 15 minutes for us to understand that maybe he's imagining it all.

[00:01:51] But I don't know if I could say it out loud, this is a spoiler, but the fact that Harry is

[00:01:56] also a fragment of his imagination is not something that anybody would have anticipated.

[00:02:01] There's actually this point where Harry meets Adam's parents or he sees Adam's mother and

[00:02:07] he's taken aback. But even then we're not really thinking that, okay, this might be his

[00:02:12] imagination. At that point I really thought, okay, are they ghosts or what is happening? But

[00:02:17] soon we realized that all of this is in his imagination and I think the movie really puts

[00:02:23] forward this idea of how a person would be if they're affected by trauma or depression and

[00:02:28] loneliness. And even that can happen because of loneliness because we see Harry died because

[00:02:34] he drank alcohol and he died of loneliness basically. So if people connect to it at any

[00:02:42] level it'd be really heartbreaking for them is what I felt. For me at many points of the movie

[00:02:46] I was really crying, I was really breaking down because I could connect to the story a lot.

[00:02:51] Yes, Swati. And what I found, what I pointed out in this film is that there is a constant

[00:02:57] melancholic strain that haunts you throughout the film. And Vishnu Priya,

[00:03:03] which element of the story, how was the story for you? How did you enjoy it?

[00:03:08] So yes, Padma Kumar, I felt this movie very simpler and stranger at the same time.

[00:03:16] So the movie majorly shows four characters. So what I found that everybody is so close yet

[00:03:24] they're so strangers. You know Adam, Adam's parents, but I mean Harry also, but you don't

[00:03:30] know much about them but you know too much about them. That's what I felt. Adam in fact,

[00:03:35] he and his parents, Adam's parents didn't know that he was gay. Again, we don't know much about

[00:03:42] Harry, what is his backstory but then we know that how he is detached from his family.

[00:03:52] Harry is also a stranger to his family, Adam is also a stranger to family. So that one

[00:03:58] thing that I found very interesting part of the movie and like Swathi said, the movie is so sad

[00:04:06] that I felt every ache and every pain of this movie. Like the pain that they were showing it,

[00:04:12] it was so raw and so real for me. And that's where they effectively portrayed also the grief

[00:04:20] and loneliness which I felt is the core part of the movie. Like the true essence of All of

[00:04:25] the Strangers was that and they were successful in that too. And yeah, like it was, I think the

[00:04:33] movie was talking about all these unresolved trauma, repressed pain of like people how they

[00:04:40] deal with grief about losing human connections. It may not be your love life, it's about your

[00:04:49] parents and the connections, all of those. And one interesting fact I found about the movie was

[00:04:56] the importance of physical touch. It was shown in different parts and those scenes where they

[00:05:05] were showing physical touch, I felt it was so strong and conveyed so beautifully. So those

[00:05:11] are the major things that I found. Yes, Vishnupriya, as you mentioned earlier,

[00:05:15] the strangeness. Actually, that's the core element that there is a strange core element in

[00:05:22] every human being which is strange to the closest person you are having around. So that's true.

[00:05:28] And every aspect of the film has contributed immensely to the mood and the aesthetic beauty

[00:05:34] of the film, whether it's the beautiful frames, the enigmatic music, the dialogues and so on.

[00:05:41] Vishnupriya, if you are asked to join these various technical aspects, how would you narrate?

[00:05:49] Which aspect would you place on the top? How was it for you?

[00:05:53] So, Patmukumar, one thing which struck me the most was there is this one particular scene where

[00:06:01] Adam and Harry goes to a nightclub. That scene, like how they captured it, I immediately,

[00:06:09] I mean, I won't say it's the same or anything, but I immediately got reminded of this 2018

[00:06:15] release French movie Climax. It's one of my favorites and but I don't know those scenes,

[00:06:21] I thoroughly enjoyed it. And I don't know, but the most of the frames in All of a Strangers

[00:06:27] were a little dark or either it's dark toned or there is a yellow light. But that one

[00:06:34] particular scene where they truly stand out. And like I mentioned before, the importance of

[00:06:41] physical touch. I just wanted to add one more point that even though they've shown the

[00:06:46] importance of physical touch, sexuality was not a major focus of the movie.

[00:06:50] Swathi, how would you put the technical aspects? How the technical aspects contributed

[00:06:56] to the mood of the film? What do you think? I think Patmukumar, one of the things that I

[00:07:02] noticed about the movie is that even though there's a background score running, there are

[00:07:07] many points in the movie where it's just silence and that silence conveys a lot of meaning.

[00:07:13] For example, the conversation between Adam and his mother when he's telling her that he

[00:07:18] he's coming out that he's gay, there is a certain silence, the expressions that I think

[00:07:23] the camera captures her, Claire for his expressions very clearly, her expressions,

[00:07:28] the minute expressions on her face. I think the cinematography part, it's just very amazing.

[00:07:34] The way it is done, it's very amazing. The lighting of the movie, it's very dull at the

[00:07:39] same time. I think it gives a very sad and effective melancholy. There's an effect,

[00:07:45] there's a sense of melancholy to it. I mean, from the onset, it's just plain sadness

[00:07:50] or dullness. And I feel like I read this somewhere that when you see Andrew Scott,

[00:07:55] when you look at his face, there are so many layers of grief attached to this character.

[00:08:01] You can actually feel it or you can actually see it and I agree to that part. And for the

[00:08:06] camera, the cameraman I think has brilliantly captured the angles in the right way where you

[00:08:11] feel like you're just peeping into their lives. We're just seeing it from maybe a couple of

[00:08:16] feet apart from what is happening and you're seeing and you're observing this. And I think

[00:08:21] it gives a sort of continuation to the story where you feel like you're moving with the

[00:08:25] characters. And I think that is very important for a movie like this because there's a lot of

[00:08:29] emotional depth in the story. Like I said, music, I'd not noticed like, obviously there

[00:08:35] is a lot of 70s or 80s queer music that is playing around, that is going around.

[00:08:40] I think it also tells us about Adam as a person because it seems like he's covering up

[00:08:44] a lot of emotions inside him and he's listening to all these music. And at certain

[00:08:48] point he bursts out crying with a minor trigger. And I think the music adds a lot of depth to it

[00:08:54] because it shows who he is as a person, who he wants to be, his liberation, all of that is sort

[00:09:00] of included in the music. Yeah. And I think it's the powerful performance of the actors

[00:09:06] that make it an enthralling watch. And I hope that you both might be having a lot to say

[00:09:12] about the performance, especially of Andrew Scott. All the actors were top notch, but

[00:09:18] how will you detail the character of Adam reprised by Andrew Scott and also the character

[00:09:25] of Harry by Paul Muskell, Vishnupriya? For me, watching Andrew Scott and Paul Muskell

[00:09:34] like on screen was a pleasure. I'm already a fan of Andrew Scott. So that was one of the

[00:09:40] major elements that I chose to watch this movie. But it was amazing to watch them on

[00:09:46] screen. For me, Adam is a character built on his delusions. Like if you can see everything about

[00:09:53] his life is fiction and like so far from reality. And there is this one dialogue from

[00:10:00] the movie that really struck me was Adam saying to Harry, I was too scared to let you in,

[00:10:08] but I'm here with you. So that I don't know, but I felt there are like that one dialogue was

[00:10:16] there was so much depth for it. As a viewer, I felt that because too much complexities and

[00:10:23] Adam is so lonely and so much is going on his head. And that's the first like only time we are

[00:10:30] Adam interacting with a real person, like in the beginning. So those parts were like truly

[00:10:37] conveyed and even had Paul Muskell for the fact that from the moment he comes to the screen,

[00:10:44] like it was truly amazing to watch all. Like again, for that matter, all four characters was truly

[00:10:52] beautiful to watch. Sometimes I felt that Andrew Scott, the character of Adam, he was a bit

[00:10:58] confused. He did have conviction about what he was up to or about his actions or his decisions.

[00:11:05] On the other hand, if you take Harry, for instance, he was thoroughly sure about his own

[00:11:11] decisions or his actions. What do you say Swati? Well, Patmukumar, I don't know if Adam was a

[00:11:17] confused person. I think it's just that he's probably he's confused, but at the same time

[00:11:23] he carries a lot of trauma inside him, which makes him really scared. I mean, he, you know,

[00:11:28] to the world, he seems like a normal man who is stuck. He's a struggling writer and he's out

[00:11:34] in the open to get inspiration from his past. He goes to his childhood house to, you know,

[00:11:40] to get some kind of inspiration so that he could write about his parents or something.

[00:11:44] From a far perspective, it seems like everything is normal, but from an eagle-eyed

[00:11:49] perspective, you feel like something is not right about this person because he's extremely

[00:11:54] sad at the same time. I think the combination is very dangerous. A person to be really,

[00:11:58] really sad and then he acts like he's normal. When somebody's trying to come into his world,

[00:12:05] Harry's trying to come into his world, he immediately shuts down that thought that

[00:12:10] somebody can come into his world and be with him. He doesn't want that.

[00:12:14] And obviously, Harry's death is not a consequence of what Adam did that day. But we have to,

[00:12:20] I think it's very important to note that when I saw that scene, I was thinking,

[00:12:24] is it, can it be at least one person, Adam's fault that Harry had to die? But

[00:12:28] absolutely not because you know, when you're scared, when you have so much trauma within

[00:12:32] you. I think it's very normal to be that way. And I think Adam Scott really, really pulled off

[00:12:37] this character brilliantly because you know, I feel like the character of Adam is a very

[00:12:43] layered person. He's been through a lot, even though sometimes it's like you don't have to

[00:12:49] be through a lot of things to feel that kind of trauma. Obviously his parents died

[00:12:53] when he was 12 or something and then he had to, you know, build a whole life ahead of

[00:12:58] him. He had to plan his whole life ahead of him and he actually pulls it out of whatever

[00:13:04] he was going through. And there's a scene where his parents says, we're proud of you because

[00:13:09] you know, you stuck it through or you just managed to pull across and you're here now.

[00:13:14] I think that scene really hit me. And I think Claire Foy and the person who played,

[00:13:18] I forgot his name, the person who played his dad, both of them did a very commendable job as

[00:13:23] the parents and the conversations between the three of them. It was really,

[00:13:27] really touching. And I think that was a scene that really made me cry because you know,

[00:13:31] he's asking them to stay. And I think as children, we might have wanted our parents

[00:13:36] to at a certain point, it might be just as something trivial as them going to work and

[00:13:41] us wanting them to be there. And also the fact that our parents are also aging, my parents

[00:13:46] are aging. I think to just think about the fact that this might also happen to us one day.

[00:13:52] And I think their acting was so great that it felt so real and authentic. And I think

[00:13:57] the expressions that they gave out, the minute detailings that were in the scenes,

[00:14:00] all of that was just amazing. And obviously coming back to Paul Mascall, I think he was

[00:14:05] the grounding factor that really complimented Adam Scott's performance. He seems very simple

[00:14:10] at the same time. He's also as layered as Adam is. He also carries his share of trauma.

[00:14:15] And I think both of them have, at least in Adam's imagination, they have some kind of

[00:14:20] trauma bonding that is going on. I think that is why he's manifesting it. And same with his

[00:14:25] parents as well. He might have wanted another conversation with them and all of that he's

[00:14:29] getting in his forties. And I think the performance, I don't have to even comment

[00:14:34] on it. It's just, all the performance were just brilliant. And I have to especially

[00:14:38] mention Claire Foy. We know her from The Crown. And I think she is just a brilliant

[00:14:43] actress. And you know, there are these minute expressions that she gave out, especially

[00:14:47] the conversation between him and Adam while they're on the bed. I think there was pain,

[00:14:52] there was happiness, and she was proud as well. All those feelings through her minute

[00:14:57] expressions was just amazing. And the only flaw that I found that I would like to point out is

[00:15:04] that the initial melancholic mood of Adam looked a bit forced maybe because one has to

[00:15:13] have some time to get accustomed to his world, to Adam's world. Maybe there is there. But

[00:15:18] otherwise it's okay. I won't say there is any fault or flaw. So do you have anything to say

[00:15:25] about that? So Patna Kumar, even I absolutely loved the movie. There are one or two factors

[00:15:32] that I thought maybe could have, I wouldn't say could have aborted or anything. But then

[00:15:38] a few things that I made me think was one thing. So the story is ultimately one person

[00:15:45] who is gay and then he's lonely in a city like London, then there is this tragic ending.

[00:15:52] All these, I felt a little too mainstream because I've seen, like there have been

[00:15:57] already a lot of movies that talk about all this loneliness and tragedy. There were a few

[00:16:03] things that said like left unsaid for that fact. That was a little, like I expected a little more.

[00:16:11] They could have lead with the grief, but it felt a little mainstream for me. And also I think

[00:16:17] in one of the interviews, Andrew He himself said the movie is about you finding love,

[00:16:23] you losing it and you finding it again. Again, that part also I was not sure.

[00:16:30] Even that was a little cliche for me. And also we don't know if Adam is going to find love again,

[00:16:36] if there is somebody going to replace Harry for him or he's going to be lonely again.

[00:16:42] So these were the little factors that felt a little odd for me. But otherwise I absolutely

[00:16:48] enjoyed the movie and it was not an easy watch, I would say. I didn't feel good after,

[00:16:53] like for some time, but I would recommend this to everyone.

[00:16:58] Well, I don't think I noticed anything major if I have to point out flaws as such. But I would say

[00:17:05] I found a problem with the pacing a bit in the first half of the movie, second half was brilliant,

[00:17:10] but to reach a point from A to B, it took its time, I guess. I don't know if it's a flaw,

[00:17:15] but I think to establish what was going on and for us to understand the setup and

[00:17:21] to understand what's going on, it took a bit of time. And that's the only thing I felt.

[00:17:26] Yes, I do believe that it's a brilliant mesmerizing movie that will keep haunting you long after you

[00:17:31] have watched it. So that brings us to the end of this episode. Thanks for listening to

[00:17:37] Start Action Cut produced and hosted by me, Padma Kumar with technical production by Idea

[00:17:43] Brew Studios. Follow www.hornmanorama.com for more podcasts from movies and be sure to come

[00:17:50] back for the next episode of Start Action Cut that will be out on next Monday. Thank you.