How Andrew Scott gives 'All of Us Strangers' a ghost of a chance

Andrew Haigh’s “All of Us Strangers” is a tale of loneliness in the modern world.

It is also a ghost story that, when used in the genre of drama, is inexplicably always about the imprint of the past on the present, about memories we cannot escape. For any faults in its narrative structure, and there are a few, it is an emotionally impactful film buoyed by a deeply-felt performance from lead Andrew Scott.

Scott, who you might simply know as Hot Priest from the second season of “Fleabag,” plays Adam, a writer working on his latest screenplay. Anytime a film centers on a screenwriter working on a script, I assume there’s an invisible ending card that says “… and that screenplay is the movie you just watched!”

Adam toils away in a desperately empty corporate apartment complex on the outskirts of London. When he is not writing, Adam seems driftless and unsettled. Given there’s little dialogue in the film’s first moments, we assume he’s going through a bout of writer’s block. There is more to it than that, as there always is with writer’s block.

Adam meets another tenant named Harry, who is drunk and lecherous in their initial encounter. A quick note on Paul Mescal, the actor playing Harry: I know he is the “it” guy in the indie movie scene, nominated for a best actor Oscar in “Aftersun” last year and starring in the “Gladiator” sequel coming out later this year. His appeal is elusive to me. I find him uneasy and creepy. Which works — in theory — with a character like Harry.

But then I wonder — after Adam and Harry start a torrid affair — why Adam, or anyone really, would find him appealing given how he comes across. I dunno, maybe Ridley Scott will figure out what to do with him.

Anyway, Adam finds himself drawn to his childhood home as he continues to write and as the relationship escalates with intensity. He finds his parents still live there. Problem is, they died in a car accident a few decades ago and are the same age they were at the time of their passings. As played by Jamie Bell and Claire Foy, Mom and Dad initially don’t suspect anything is unusual about their adult son showing up after not seeing him for several years.

But then, Adam and his parents starts having probing conversations. Adam comes out to his mom, who handles it with unease. Dad explains how he knew Adam was being bullied for being “girlie,” but didn’t do anything about it. Then they talk about their deaths.

At moments, “All of Us Strangers” reaches revelatory truths about the dynamic between parents and children in only the way a fantasy can. We don’t get to visit our parents as they were when we were children. Or when they are our age. If we could, it might explain why we are the way we are as adults. Parents can be more honest about what they did or how they felt when we’ve had some of the same life experiences they’ve had. It’s a very emotionally satisfying part of the film.

Adam makes multiple trips to his childhood home. In between each visit, he and Harry have their physical interactions where Adam uses pillow talk to explain what’s going on with his parents. This becomes a pattern, which drains the story of its dramatic effect when you can predict the beats for every scene. Now, I know why the film does this because I’ve seen the ending. But it doesn’t keep the film from being redundant and lacking impact the further this narrative structure goes along.

What keeps “All of Us Strangers” working is Scott, fresh off a Golden Globe nod for this performance. He is an actor who can work with his eyes and his face to convey emotion without saying much. There’s a lot of moments where he is simply reacting to others. We sense his thoughts and feelings.

Ghost stories fall into two types: either what is happening is reality or is all in the character’s head. This film is the latter, so Scott must signal to the audience how he is processing what takes place. Given the raves he received for playing Hamlet on the West End a few years ago, Scott clearly knows how to perform against a spectral presence.

The film has an ominous, dread-filled tone, established through its soundtrack and photography. The fact it ends up as just a sad little melodrama betrays these red herrings. But much of the emotion rings true and Scott proves himself to be the real actor you should be watching in the future.

“All of Us Strangers” starts at Ragtag Cinema this weekend. For which, I am happy to report — they now have candy at the box office. While it’s not brand candy, we can always be thankful for baby steps towards progress.

James Owen is the Tribune’s film columnist. In real life, he is a lawyer and executive director of energy policy group Renew Missouri. A graduate of Drury University and the University of Kansas, he created Filmsnobs.com, where he co-hosts a podcast. He enjoyed an extended stint as an on-air film critic for KY3, the NBC affiliate in Springfield, and now regularly guests on Columbia radio station KFRU.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Andrew Scott gives 'All of Us Strangers' a ghost of a chance