All of Us Strangers
All of Us Strangers
A screenwriter drawn back to his childhood home enters into a fledgling relationship with his downstairs neighbor while discovering a mysterious new way to heal from losing his parents 30 years ago.
Varun reviewedOctober 19, 2024
A very emotionally moving and sensorial film that deals with trauma, sexuality, loneliness, parenthood and many other deep themes. Every dialogue imparted some wisdom and flowed naturally without feeling preachy. The soundtrack was meditative and the acting performances were very strong. All of Us Strangers is an apt title, as parents who try to stay blissful in their ignorance end up becoming strangers to the world at large and are therefore incapable of raising and preparing kids for their future. Becoming a stranger to your kid’s inner world is one of the biggest tragedies and there may be no chance of reconciliation later on. Urban cities, despite having large crowds and various attractions, are becoming more and more individualistic. And the constant barrage of news along with our poor economic and systemic structures are making us more mistrustful and competitive, making us strangers to people around us. And the worst outcome is becoming a stranger to ourselves when our families are determined to deny our identities, and we become less vulnerable and more numb while our repressed emotions boil over in disastrous ways in our adulthood. I think a lot of people can connect with both protagonists as they feel unseen and unheard. Spoilers Ahead. Adam chooses to stay isolated and hold on to the past, while Harry is more outgoing, carefree, and serves as an example of how being vulnerable helps you move forward and make connections. But the ending proves that the pain of being an outcast can always creep back up again in volatile situations. I was devastated at the conclusion but I also had some issues with the last 20 mins. I would’ve preferred if the appearance of Adam’s parents were a trauma response rather than real apparitions. Although I don’t mind the twist being a ghost story, the ending was too supernatural and soapy for me and took me out of the movie. I wanted to see how Adam would deal with the real world after overcoming his demons. And I also felt that seeing Harry’s ghost right after he dies was a weak cop out from a storytelling standpoint. Despite these personal grievances, I still think this was an important and powerful movie that everyone should check out!