There’s a compelling argument put forth in the Big Bang Theory by one of the characters, which states and discusses the fact that Indiana Jones is not needed in Raiders of the Lost Ark. I can assert that I felt the same about the plot of All of You and this is exactly what intrigued me about the film. William Bridges (Black Mirror), who wrote the film alongside Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso) sets his dystopian movie in a not too distant future, where taking a test can tell you who your soulmate is.
If it’s sounds familiar, it’s probably because last year’s Fingernails, which was also screen at the BFI London Film Festival, was a similar situation: one of the characters undergoes the procedure, meets her “real soulmate” and gets in a relationship but in a relationship, a new jeopardy arises when their true love gets involved. But while Fingernails contained and excessive number of disturbing dystopian components and was able to convey great ideas regarding the nature of relationships, the existence of love and the need of validation in the monotone society, All of You after taking its premise uses it as the spring board to jump to much more standard, dystopia free type of film.
The two characters that make up the main protagonists are Laura (Imogen Poots, of French Exit) and Simon (Goldstein), the latter being in a romantic feeling towards the former, which every person but Laura can see. First, however, we met them Laura is sitting in front of the ‘Soul Connex’ computer, which the latter pays for with some sort of masochistic pleasure. It isn’t long before she is contented in her marriage with Lukas (Steven Cree, of A Discovery of Witches), a kind man who would seem to be evidence that the test has indeed worked. The film does fast forward in time more than once in its first half, and so we do see Laura and Simon on dates, as the latter achieves certain levels in the relationship and the former appears to be not so subtly enamored with the latter. Except that, Laura, who is about to have a child soon enough, is not as contented as the other characters. “Did you give me money [to find my soul mate] expecting it could be you?” one day surprises Simon as much as the audience when she asks him intentionally out of nowhere, and that changes the script.
What occurs next is what you most likely assumed would occur the entire time and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sure, Even if the science fiction aspects of the film’s premise are completely ignored to allow for a rather orthodox love story between a woman who is married and a man, All of You still had potential as a romantic drama, Particularly since Goldstein and Poots have so much chemistry. The concern, or rather the problem, in this particular case, is that one does not know what the point of the movie in question is. This is apart from a very fundamental idea that can be discerned even in its premise: perhaps a dating company is not the best looking glass to search for one’s soulmate.
Additionally, the vocals in All Of You leave much to be desired as well. Goldstein as Simon is the main comedic relief in the movie and while I remember some people LOL at his lines in my screening, I couldn’t help but see him as a less mad, less interesting and funny Roy Kent from Ted Lasso. This made the humor attempt awkward. As their romance begins, how second self lead to a lot less liking of both characters; their actions soon become more and more inconsistent and that is when the melodrama takes over the romance. To top this off with quite possibly the most embarrassing sex scene the film’s talented cast, including the amazing Zaw Ashton playing a very much believable and well developed character within the trash that is the movie, still doesn’t help it from the flaws present in the story.
It’s truly regrettable to watch a movie with such promising ideas fail when the film, comprising of such great talented creatives, had the potential to be much more. Putting its dystopian aspects aside, All of You could still have functioned as a critique of contemporary romance, if only it had tried harder to develop its characters and be more decisive about its message. Yes, there are parts here that shine, both in terms of the craft of making the film and what the film is about, but such parts are too few and far between to remember the film for.
For more movies like All of You visit 123Movies.