A One Mann’s Movies review of “All of You” (2024) (From the 2024 London Film Festival).
In “All of You” we have taken dating to the next level. With millions of people having taken “The Test”, the SoulConnex organisation will, for a suitably large fee, find your perfect soul-mate who might be anywhere in the world. So not, as I first met the Illustrious Mrs Movie Man 45 years ago next week, getting drunk on 10p/pint scrumpy and drunkenly singing “Crocodile Rock” on a piano I couldn’t play? Hmm… all seems far too easy and clinical.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
“All of You” Plot Summary:
Simon (Brett Goldstein) and Laura (Imogen Poots) are long-standing platonic BFFs from the days of university and living in London. Against Simon’s advice, Laura takes “The Test” to find her soul-mate and is matched with the apparently perfect Lukas (Steven Cree). But is this where her true affections really lie?
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (At the time of writing, this has not been rated by the BBFC, but I believe it will be a ’15’ based on ‘Strong sex’ and language.)
Talent:
Starring: Brett Goldstein, Nadia Albina, Zawe Ashton, Jenna Coleman, Steven Cree.
Directed by: William Bridges.
Written by: William Bridges & Brett Goldstein.
Running Time: 1h 38m.
“All of You” Summary:
Positives:
- A believable BFF friendship between Simon and Laura.
- A nicely paced film, skipping through different snapshots of their lives.
- Imogen Poots again demonstrates what an under-used talent she is.
Negatives:
- The plot left me with an unpleasant taste in the mouth.
- An ending that fizzled.
Review of “All of You”:
Believable BFFs.
Firstly let me say that I thoroughly believed the backstory of Simon and Laura. They are pitched as best friends from university. The pair have that ability to banter, often with inside-jokes, that only long-term friends have. “Have you two ever done it” asks one of Simon’s girlfriends at one point. Simon, in reply, indicates that it is purely platonic, though his eyes often say something else.
Making this easy is Imogen Poots who again impresses as Laura. She has such a natural acting air about her and such a gorgeous and infectious giggle that you can’t help but feel warm about her in this first part of the film. You really do wish her well in finding her match. Poots impressed me in last year’s Rose Dugdale-based thriller “Baltimore” and she does again here. She deserves more in the way of A-list roles imho.
This is not to say that Brett Goldstein doesn’t hold his end up on the acting front as well, but Poots was the one that my eye was most drawn to in the scenes they shared (but, to be fair, there may be another reason or two for that!).
It was also nice to see Jenna Coleman on the big screen, albeit only in a tiny cameo role. Why is Coleman not in more feature films? She is so good!
Vignettes of a life.
I very much liked the way the film was paced. Without any fanfare, a cut between scenes can skip months if not years. At one point, Laura is bleeding all over Simon’s new car seat on the way to the hospital. (“It’s OK, they’re wipe down” he says). You fill in the blanks, but things look bad. Then in the next scene we are at a dinner showing pictures of their baby daughter Sascha. It’s a neat way of keeping the audience on their toes while still telling the story in a compact 98 minutes.
Arrrgh… frustration.
All in all, this is a frustrating film to watch. It’s very British in the amount of ‘reserve’ shown. As the viewer you KNOW exactly what the score is within the first 5 minutes, as Simon takes Laura to the facility to do “The Test”. He even pays for it! “GROW SOME BALLS MAN AND TELL HER HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT HER” I was internally screaming at the screen.
In another excrutiating scene over dinner, Laura is extolling the virtues of Luke saying that he is “always there for me when I need him” with the camera fixed on Simon’s expression thinking “hang on… that’s my job”. Unfortunately, his current girlfriend “Andrea the giant” (Zawe Ashton) has also seen the look in his eyes. Oops.
Events unravel.
I won’t provide spoilers as to how the story unravels, but its fair to say that I ended up really not caring for either of our protagonists. In particular, I suspect that Laura (Imogen Poots) will bear the brunt of much ire from the Illustrious Mrs Movie Man for her actions in the film. (No, I’m not talking about the impressive number of different sex postions that Laura is able to accomplish!). Simon (Brett Goldstein)’s behaviour is little better.
They don’t even do it quietly, with much hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth. “We hurt people…” whimpers Laura “.. and they don’t even know we are doing it to them”.
In addition, the film for me really didn’t have a satisfactory story-arc. It effectively fizzles out (I suppose, if successful, there could be a “All of You 2: F**king á Deux”?).
Nicely filmed.
I will commend the cinematography from Benoit Soler. For once in a film, London actually feels like London. Also, the white cliffs of the Seven Sisters in East Sussex look very photogenic. (This is surely one of the most used shots in movies, with the house on the cliff. It was in “Atonement” and I think the last time we saw it was in the Eddie Izzard thriller “Six Minutes to Midnight”. At least this time we actually get to stay in the house!)
Summary Thoughts on “All of You”
This one started strongly for me, then took a sharp turn into unpleasantness before ending on a whimper. I really struggle to like a film where you feel disdain and antipathy for the lead players. It’s all very noughties snowflake-like: “What, so you can’t have the ideal life you think you’re entitled to?” Grow up.
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
At the time of writing, this film was not on the Justwatch database.
Trailer for “All of You”:
At the time of writing, there was no trailer available for this film.
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