All of You (2024), romance with familiar notes

This was a random pick on Apple TV. All of You, is a familiar romantic drama that talks about the thin line between friendship and love. Nothing felt new in the story, but the lead pair, Brett Goldstein and Imogen Poots, keep it engaging. Mangoidiots gives it a Raw.

The basic idea reminded me of Your Place or Mine (2023), the one with Ashton Kutcher and Reese Witherspoon on Netflix. All of You uses the soulmate concept through a sci-fi test, while Your Place or Mine keeps it real.

The film opens with Laura, played by Imogen Poots, taking a test that promises to identify her one true soulmate. Simon, her closest friend from their college days, pays for the test. Simon is played by Brett Goldstein, who many will remember as Roy Kent from the TV series Ted Lasso. Wikipedia mentions that this soulmate test, which the film never explains, is a nod to the Soulmates TV series. This, along with a feature-packed dashboard in a car and Laura’s modern smartwatch, is the only science fiction flavour in the movie. The test identifies Lukas as Laura’s soulmate. What happens to the feelings between Laura and Simon, whether they talk about it or whether Laura chooses to live with Lukas, forms the core of the story.

The screenplay by Director William Bridges and Brett Goldstein feels odd at first. You need a bit of time to get used to scenes jumping forward by weeks or even years. Once you settle into that rhythm, the style grows on you. In one scene, Simon meets Andrea, a friend of Laura. In the very next scene, we hear they have been dating and living together for months. In another example, after Laura first mentions Lukas, the next scene shows the two married with a small daughter. Throughout the film there are no clear explanations of who the characters are or what has shaped their lives. You pick up details from context, and the rest is left to your imagination.

The second half works mainly because of the lovely onscreen chemistry between Brett Goldstein and Imogen Poots. We get a good sense of Simon and Laura as people. Lukas does not get the same space. Because the film keeps him in the background, we miss understanding Laura’s choices better, since her decisions and Simon’s decisions affect Lukas in a big way. We can sense that Lukas is successful in his work and is a gentle and responsible man, still we come away feeling he is a bit of a dear fool in a very British sense.

The climax is warm, and if you like slow-paced romantic stories, you may enjoy this. If you prefer something livelier, this may not be for you. It is available on Apple TV.