“Weekend” and “Looking” filmmaker Andrew Haigh is back with another soulful examination of love, family and queerness, “All of Us Strangers.” Emmy-nominated “Fleabag” star Andrew Scott and Oscar-nominated “Normal People” and “Aftersun” breakout Paul Mescal star as two men in London, who bond after a chance encounter. Meanwhile, Scott’s Adam encounters his parents in his childhood home — exactly the same as they were the day they died thirty years ago. From there, a surprising and heartbreaking ghost story ensues.
“All of Us Strangers” is a beautiful, haunting film tangled up in the root of identity, where Haigh prods at the intersection of family, culture, sex and love; and the intimacy and aloneness within each. It’s a super personal piece for the filmmaker, it’s poised to be a player in the 2024 awards conversation and it’s finally heading to theaters.
If you’re wondering when you can watch it in theaters or where to expect it on streaming, here’s a handy guide to how to watch “All of Us Strangers.”
When is the release date?
“All of Us Strangers” arrives in U.S. theaters on Dec. 22 and U.K. theaters on Jan. 26.
Where to find showtimes and tickets near you
“All of Us Strangers” will be released in theaters nationwide. To see if there are screenings near you, check out the film’s studio website or the ticketing providers below.
Where will “All of Us Strangers” be streaming?
Searchlight will debut “All of Us Strangers” exclusively in theaters. The film does not yet have a streaming release date.
As a Searchlight Pictures film, the film is owned by Disney, which means it will likely wind up streaming on Hulu. That’s where recent Searchlight films like “Theater Camp,” “Chevalier” and “Banshees of Inisherin” are all streaming now. It could also stream on Disney+ for those with the combined beta app.
Is “All of Us Strangers” based on a book?
Yes, the film is loosely based on Taichi Yamada’s 1987 novel “Strangers.” “All of Us Strangers” is actually the second adaptation of Yamada’s novel, following Nobuhiko Obayashi’s 1998 Japanese-language film “The Discarnates.”
In an interview with AwardsWatch, Haigh discussed how the central idea of reuniting with your parents long after their death unlocked his personal take on the material.
“[In] the book, it’s a heterosexual love affair that is going on. I mean, I knew that wasn’t going to be the case when I did the adaptation. And as I started working on it, I became really fascinated about that connection between queerness and family, and how wrapped up they are within each other and how complicated they can be with each other. And out of that, how complicated understanding love can be, and familial love and romantic love being informed by each other. So there were so many things that I felt like the conceit of meeting the long dead parents allowed me to explore all of those elements of queerness that I was interested in, but also feeling like it’s also tapped into something so universal at the same time.”
Here is the full synopsis for “All of Us Strangers”:
“One night in his near-empty tower block in contemporary London, Adam (Andrew Scott) has a chance encounter with a mysterious neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal), which punctures the rhythm of his everyday life. As a relationship develops between them, Adam is preoccupied with memories of the past and find himself drawn back to the suburban town where he grew up, and the childhood home where his parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell), appear to be living, just as they were on the day they died, 30 years before.”
