FILM: All of Us Strangers (15)
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Directed by Andrew Haigh. Starring Adam Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy and Jamie Bell.
CAN we talk about the music that soundtracks Andrew Haigh's multiple-BAFTA award-nominated romance fantasy drama, All of Us Strangers?
It's screening at Eden Court until Thursday.
But first, a brief synopsis. A screenwriter drawn back to his childhood home enters into a fledgling relationship with a mysterious neighbour in a near-empty East London tower block as he then discovers his parents appear to be living just as they were on the day they died in a car crash, 30 years before.
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Andrew Scott (Adam) and Paul Mescal (Harry) are at the heart of an intense slow-burner that tugs at the heartstrings in ways you just weren't expecting and packs an emotional punch that stays with you for days afterwards.
Anyone whose formative musical years were in the 1980s will recognise many of the songs, starting with the integral The Power of Love by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, imbued with so much meaning in this film it is almost an additional character in itself and at the heart of a truly moving coda.
Haigh also uses The Pet Shop Boys' version of Always on my Mind in a wordless but deeply resonant scene in which two lines of the lyrics encapsulate decades-old regrets spanning generations.
Elsewhere you see the needle drop on The Housemartins' Build while a pivotal moment in a club foray is soundtracked by Blur's Death of a Party.
Haigh's use of everything from The Ink Spots' I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire to the original score piece, Can I Hug You Now?, serves a purpose. For anyone who believes in music's ability to help tell a story, it's a treat.
Changing attitudes to homosexuality are explored in what is clearly a deeply personal issue for the director as are the choices we make on who we let into our lives and when and the life-changing difference that can make. While there are lengthy periods of dialogue, the director has a knack for sucker punch moments of intensity that will stay with you long after the credits roll.
