All of Us Strangers
A screenwriter drawn back to his childhood home enters into a fledgling relationship with his downstairs neighbor while discovering a mysterious new way to heal from losing his parents 30 years ago.
Despite its small-scale budget of $5.0M, All of Us Strangers became a financial success, earning $14.9M worldwide—a 197% return.
Nominated for 6 BAFTA 29 wins & 122 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
All of Us Strangers (2023) demonstrates strategically placed narrative design, characteristic of Andrew Haigh's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 45 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.4, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Adam
Harry
Dad
Mum
Main Cast & Characters
Adam
Played by Andrew Scott
A lonely screenwriter living in a nearly empty London tower block who reconnects with his long-deceased parents and forms a connection with his mysterious neighbor.
Harry
Played by Paul Mescal
Adam's enigmatic neighbor who pursues a romantic relationship with him while struggling with his own demons and isolation.
Dad
Played by Jamie Bell
Adam's father as he was before his death in the 1980s, appearing to help Adam process unresolved grief and his identity as a gay man.
Mum
Played by Claire Foy
Adam's mother as she was before her death, offering maternal warmth while grappling with the past and her son's sexuality.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Adam sits alone in his nearly empty high-rise apartment, isolated and disconnected from the world. The building is desolate, mirroring his emotional state of profound loneliness and unresolved grief.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when Adam takes a night train to his childhood suburban home and encounters his parents, alive and unchanged from the 1980s when they died in a car accident. This supernatural event forces him to confront his unprocessed grief.. At 13% through the film, this Disruption is delayed, allowing extended setup of the story world. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 27 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 26% of the runtime. This illustrates the protagonist's commitment to Adam actively chooses to let Harry into his apartment and his life, accepting the possibility of intimacy. This decision opens him to vulnerability and marks his commitment to engaging with both the past and present., moving from reaction to action.
At 53 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Notably, this crucial beat Adam comes out to his parents in the 1980s suburban home. His mother struggles with acceptance while his father shows unexpected tenderness. This false victory feels like emotional breakthrough, but the impossibility of the situation looms., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 79 minutes (76% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Adam returns to Harry's apartment to find him dead, having been deceased for some time. The whiff of death becomes literal - the one real connection Adam made in the present was already lost, possibly from the beginning., indicates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 86 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 82% of the runtime. Adam returns to his parents one final time for a true goodbye. He synthesizes the lessons from both worlds - the need to process grief and the imperative to choose love and connection despite the certainty of loss., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
All of Us Strangers's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping All of Us Strangers against these established plot points, we can identify how Andrew Haigh utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish All of Us Strangers within the drama genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Adam sits alone in his nearly empty high-rise apartment, isolated and disconnected from the world. The building is desolate, mirroring his emotional state of profound loneliness and unresolved grief.
Theme
Harry, the mysterious neighbor, appears at Adam's door asking "Do you want to come in?" - a question that resonates throughout the film about opening oneself to connection and confronting the past.
Worldbuilding
Establishing Adam's isolated existence as a screenwriter in London, his disconnect from others, and the eerie emptiness of his building. We see his routine, his creative work, and the initial encounter with Harry that he resists.
Disruption
Adam takes a night train to his childhood suburban home and encounters his parents, alive and unchanged from the 1980s when they died in a car accident. This supernatural event forces him to confront his unprocessed grief.
Resistance
Adam navigates the surreal experience of reconnecting with his parents, unsure if this is real or imagined. He debates whether to continue these visits while Harry pursues him, offering human connection in the present.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Adam actively chooses to let Harry into his apartment and his life, accepting the possibility of intimacy. This decision opens him to vulnerability and marks his commitment to engaging with both the past and present.
Mirror World
Adam and Harry's relationship deepens through physical and emotional intimacy. Harry represents the life and connection Adam could have in the present, mirroring the theme of choosing to live versus remaining trapped in grief.
Premise
Adam splits his time between two worlds: tender, complicated visits with his parents where he confronts childhood trauma and his sexuality, and passionate encounters with Harry that awaken him to present joy and pain.
Midpoint
Adam comes out to his parents in the 1980s suburban home. His mother struggles with acceptance while his father shows unexpected tenderness. This false victory feels like emotional breakthrough, but the impossibility of the situation looms.
Opposition
The fantasy becomes increasingly unsustainable. Adam's parents remain frozen in time while he ages. His deepening love for Harry is complicated by his inability to fully let go of the past. The pressure of living between two worlds intensifies.
Collapse
Adam returns to Harry's apartment to find him dead, having been deceased for some time. The whiff of death becomes literal - the one real connection Adam made in the present was already lost, possibly from the beginning.
Crisis
Adam processes the devastating revelation that Harry may have been a ghost like his parents, or that Adam was too late to save him. He faces the dark truth that his isolation and inability to fully open up may have cost him everything.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Adam returns to his parents one final time for a true goodbye. He synthesizes the lessons from both worlds - the need to process grief and the imperative to choose love and connection despite the certainty of loss.
Synthesis
Adam says farewell to his parents in an emotionally cathartic scene where they tuck him into bed as a child one last time. He releases them and returns to the present, choosing to embrace Harry's memory and his own capacity to love.
Transformation
Adam lies in bed with Harry's body, holding him close. Unlike the opening isolation, he is now someone who has loved and been loved, who has confronted his past and chosen connection. The loneliness is transformed into bittersweet acceptance.