SPOILER ALERT: This column contains potential spoilers about “All of You.”
Love takes a tragic turn for the worst in Apple TV’s “All of You,” and that’s putting it lightly. After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 7, 2024, the film is finally available to the general public just over a year later on Apple TV. But what’s described as a complicated love story between two lifelong friends actually paints a more sorrowful picture of romance than some might realize.
The movie is centered around best friends Laura (Imogen Poots) and Simon (Brett Goldstein), and follows their friendship through the years. Set in a fictional world where a company called Soul Connex has invented a test to determine who your soulmate is, the two friends must spend years trying to fight the undeniable fact that their bond is much more than platonic.
When I read the synopsis on Apple TV, the film seemed both sad and a little dreamy. Described as two friends fighting the urge to risk everything and “explore a love that has existed all along,” it felt like I was stepping into some epic, if not slightly tragic, friends-to-lovers romance. But while romance is a driving element throughout this movie, I think horror might be a more fitting genre.
When it starts out, Laura and Simon are just friends — though it seems obvious to the viewer there’s something more between them. However, the two characters make no indication towards acknowledging it. Regardless of what they might feel, Laura is set to take the Soul Connex soulmate test which, as Simon puts it, will probably mean she’ll get too wrapped up to ever hang out with him again.
Simon, on the other hand, is adamantly against the test, an attitude that remains true through the entire movie. He’s adamant that true love is meant to be something you find on your own, not something that’s found for you.
It’s hard to find just one word that fits how it feels to watch Simon throughout this movie. But I tried. The closest word I could come up with was pitiful. Now I know that sounds harsh, but more than anything else, Simon’s arc through the movie just led me to feel more and more sorry for him. Laura takes the test and finds her soulmate, Lukas (Steven Cree). Laura gets married and has a kid. Simon, he’s just there. Like some static, unmoving thing that sits in the background of her life waiting for her to love him.
And when the movie ends, leaving their futures open-ended as he heads to United States and they say goodbye for the last time, Simon is left without closure or a guaranteed future like Laura is. He’s just there, about to start a new chapter where he might finally feel free to be happy, but after witnessing the last hour and 40 minutes of the film, as a viewer it’s hard to believe he’ll even get that.
The film tries to depict poor timing as the antagonist in their story, but the real villain in this film is Laura. She cheats on her husband throughout the film, starting with an emotional affair with Simon that eventually turns into the real thing. She lies to her family and then paints herself a victim when things don’t go her way. It’s embarrassing for her and, as a viewer, it’s infuriating to watch.
Through every time skip in the movie, it feels like Laura becomes more and more of a stranger to the girl she was at the beginning. She doesn’t want Simon to leave her, but she also won’t leave her husband. I get the aversion towards blowing up her life but at a certain point it was more frustrating than anything else that she refused to make a choice.
The romantic montages of them together are constantly undercut by the fact that you know there’s nothing sweet about what they’re doing. Their trips out of town and time spent in cozy cabins isn’t done because they want some dreamy couples' vacation, it’s done because they have to. It’s done because clandestine meetings in places far from their friends and family are the only way their relationship works without them getting caught. No amount of whimsical instrumental music is going to change the fact that this isn’t romance, it’s just some sad nightmare that leaves you hurting for Laura’s husband and daughter.
It’s tragic, but it would be unfair for me to say this film was all bad. Every shot in this movie felt more as if I’m an outsider eavesdropping on someone else’s life. And because of that, every moment — no matter how uncomfortable — felt more real. The chemistry between Goldstein and Poots was also very strong, which in turn makes both the highs and lows of their relationship that much more painful and realistic.
“All of You” is a hard watch, but it portrays the decades-old love between Simon and Laura in a real and honest light, even if that light may be a harsh one. It’s sad at times and might leave you feeling a bit emptier than you would think, but if you’re looking for a candid portrayal of loving the right person at the wrong time, this is the movie for you.
