The film revolves around screenwriter Adam, played by Andrew Scott as he deals with grief, loneliness, acceptance and love. It opens with him alone in his flat in a newly built high rise building in London, of which he is one of only two people who inhabit the building. Watching old recordings of top of the pops, eating junk food he is interrupted by the fire alarm and exits the building. Standing out on the street he looks up towards the building and notices a man standing at the window in one of the rooms. After heading back to his room and watching Frankie Goes to Hollywood perform “The Power of Love” there is a knock at his door. When he opens his door, he is greeted by the man who he saw earlier standing at the window, Harry, played by Paul Mescal. We then follow their journey together as they confide in one another of their past and help each other navigate through their loneliness.
Andrew Scott’s performance as Adam is a harrowing depiction of what it’s like to feel alone and unsure of who you really are. A motif used throughout the film is Adam's reflection in either windows or mirrors, used to express that Adam has not come to terms with who he is, a stranger to himself. The main reason for this is the sudden and tragic passing of his parents when he was still just a twelve-year-old boy. He was never able to tell or show his parents who he really was or even say goodbye. In fact, the screenplay he’s writing is about the relationship he had with them.
The relationship is explored when bizarrely, after going back to the neighbourhood where he grew up, he is found by his dad who then takes him back to his childhood home and re-introduced to his mum. Whether this is some sort of supernatural ability, or all just hallucinations, Adams ' head is for the viewer to interpret. Whatever the case, he is now able to finally come out to his parents and gain closure of their passing.
Something I found interesting here is that the parents are aware they are in the future unaware of the cultural/societal changes, an example is when Adam is coming out to his mum he’s gay over a cup of tea she says “you don’t look gay” and “what parent wants to think that about their child”. Further on in the scene, when putting her cup of tea to her lips, she looks at it disgustedly, gets up and pours it down the sink and tells him to take the flapjacks home with him because she no longer wants them, both these acts are a clear display of homophobia.
Things aren't too dissimilar with his dad either, when he admits to Adam he heard him crying in his bedroom and didn’t go in to him because “I didn’t want to think of you as the kind of boy that the other lads would pick on, and I knew that if I was your school i’d probably of picked on you too” he says it isn't a shock to him Adams gay as he couldn't throw a ball when he was younger and was a bit “tutti-frutti”.
The film's cinematographer Jamie D. Ramsay produces some amazing work here, shot using Kodak 35mm filmstock’s to give the film a supernatural and nostalgic feel. In an interview with Kodak, he said
“we didn't speak about how we wanted the film to look. Rather we spoke about how we want it to feel. It became very apparent that we shared common ground about the visual fabric of the movie, and how important it was for the camerawork and the cinematography to be intimate and personal.” (Kodak, 2024)
The film makes fantastic use of diegetic and non-diegetic audio as well, with Adams flat acting as a musical hall hosting a 80’s throwback night. The film ends with “The Power of Love” which is played during Adam and Harry's first meeting and played again here during their final goodbye. This time however it is part of the films soundtrack, adding more intensity and power into the song, giving it more emotional weight.
This film is an absolute must watch for all film lovers. The small cast and very few filming locations means director Andew Haigh uses every ounce of his filmmaking craftmanship to make what is a such a deep, personal and reflective film possible.
