2023's Most Haunting R-Movie with 96% Tomatometer is Finally on Hulu

Summary

• Hulu has added a great movie starring Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal.
• It is an adaptation of a Japanese novel about a lonely man's experience of coping with loss.
• The result is a heartbreaking story that is as much about the need to recognize the finiteness of life as it is about the ability to let go of the past.

Each of us is faced with one of life's most devastating moments — the loss of a loved one. And such a tragedy affects us in a different way, making the grief and pain of loss something unique. Some people suddenly start life with a clean slate, afraid of any memories that might prove painful. Others begin to ignore the sorrowful present, escaping from reality into the happy old days. And some lose the ability to discriminate between past and present, life and death, existence and non-existence whatsoever.

There is no right or wrong way to deal with loss, but given the unfortunate reality that the death of loved ones becomes a universal experience, we can share revelations and ways to be present and mindful, to learn to feel the colors of life again. And it seems that no one provides such an understanding shoulder as All of Us Strangers, released in 2023. It's an incredibly remarkable ghost story about learning to live in the present. We highly recommend checking it out, as it was recently made available for streaming on Hulu.

An Adaptation of a Famous Japanese Novel

All of Us Strangers is based on the novel Strangers by Japanese author Taichi Yamada. The novel was previously adapted in 1988 with the release of the Japanese film The Discarnates, but this time English filmmaker Andrew Haigh provided his interpretation, bringing his own experience of loss and finding solace in memories of the past.

The plot follows a television writer named Adam (Andrew Scott). He is a rather lonely man who doesn't socialize much, and over the years hasn't been able to come to terms with the loss of his own parents, who died in a car accident when he was only 12 years old.

One day Adam befriends his neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal), with whom they begin to build a family life together, sharing their own experiences of family interaction. Except that one day Harry discovers that Adam is obsessed with his parents' house, where he claims to see his dead parents on a regular basis.

A Heartbreaking Drama of Life and Death

What happens in the movie cannot be simultaneously defined as clear mysticism or Adam's escapist flight from reality. Rather, the plot takes a more metaphysical turn, delving into questions of being far beyond existence in one's own body. As such, memories in the movie are as adequate a mode of existence as... well, living in the present. Adam's parents are not only his imagination, but also the 'energy' left over from them, which has become an inseparable part of Adam himself, shaping his preferences and outlook on the world. Therefore, the protagonist looks at his life with sheer horror, too afraid to acknowledge his present reality.

What Adam mostly fails to realize is that this attachment to the past is sucking the life out of him as much as his drug addiction, and so this is the story of a lonely man learning how to let go.

The movie has received rave reviews with 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, even receiving 6 BAFTA Award nominations. Many have commented on how incredibly haunting the story is. However, similar to A24's A Ghost Story, it is not haunting because of the mystical horror element, but because of how much it can resonate with the viewer.