ALL OF US STRANGERS

From the trailer and the poster, not to mention the casting (Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal - wow!) I had assumed that the main focus of this film would be the relationship between the two leads.

I was therefore surprised that the main emotional impact for me derived instead from the relationship between Andrew Scott's character Adam and the ghosts of his dead parents.

Maybe that's because both my parents are no longer with me - the final scene between them and Adam really set me off.  Hats off to Claire Foy and Jamie Bell for their beautifully understated performances throughout.

In comparison I found the relationship between Adam and Harry (Mescal) touching but no more than that.  Which is not to take anything away from their performances, which are top-notch.  Andrew Scott in particular (who I think is in every scene) carries the film.  He is so good at conveying vulnerability.  (Maybe that is why I was less taken with him as Ripley).

There is so much to admire in this film besides the performances. The direction is nicely lowkey for the main part, and Andrew Haigh is happy to give the actors long scenes. The score and cinematography add to the intense and hermetic atmosphere.

The final image combined with the choice of music brings it all to an emotionally satisfying climax.

Well, almost, because I must confess I had a bit of a problem with the final scenes.

Basically I didn't totally buy the twist (spoiler alert) that the scenes with Harry are also a fantasy.  I guess I can just about believe that Adam and Harry's conversation at the beginning triggers not only some fantasies in Adam's mind about Harry, but also some coming to terms with his parents' deaths.

But I felt that Harry being dead was overegging things a bit.  At the risk of nit-picking, how exactly did Harry die anyway, given that he's a presumably healthy young man?  

So although I don't normally want an artificial feel-good ending, here I might have preferred the final scene to be Harry opening his door to find Adam there, wanting to kick start their relationship.

RATING: ✓✓ Catch It If You Can