‘I assume you don’t sell MDMA here? Do you?‘
I think perhaps what sums up Apple TV’s sci-fi adjacent romantic dramedy All of You is the fact that I’ve been staring at a blank screen for ten minutes trying to think of something to say about it. This is not to say that it’s bad, but I must admit that in a week I’ll have forgotten all about it…
Simon (Brett Goldstein) and Laura (Imogen Poots) are old friends from uni who are clearly in love with each other. This is obvious from the first time we see them together on screen. The conceit here is that we are in a near future where technology has advanced to a point where people can pay to find out who their soulmate is by taking a mysterious test. Simon pays for Laura to take the test, only to be dismayed when the algorithm picks out some Scottish guy (Steven Cree) instead of him. The rest of the film unfolds exactly as you would expect.
I like Goldstein and Poots together (although the latter massively outshines the former when things take a more serious turn), and I was never bored, but there was a nagging feeling throughout that this kind of thing has been done many times before and done better. First-time director William Bridges doesn’t really stamp much of his own identity or personality on the film, and by the time the credits rolled, I greeted them with a shrug rather than with the tears that the film’s manipulative soundtrack seemed to expect from me. It doesn’t help that the supporting cast are anonymous, and the whole thing just feels like a streaming movie. You just can’t imagine this thing playing in theatres.
All of You is fine as a time killer, and Poots elevates the material, but unless you’re a big fan of weepy romance films, I’d steer clear of this one.
