“All Of You” is a slim, modest, 100-minute love story starring Brett Goldstein and Imogen Poots. But in its decade-spanning structure and proclamations of “one true love” and “true soul mate,” it very much wants to be “Doctor Zhivago” or another such sweeping romance. Only it obviously isn’t and leaves you with a feeling of much ado about nothing. William Bridges makes his feature directorial debut from a script he co-wrote with Goldstein, based on the short “For Life” they had made years earlier. The idea is expanded here with mixed results, although the stars do provide committed performances.
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“All Of You” is labeled as a sci-fi romance, but that is a stretch as only the barest sliver of a ‘high concept’ inflects the story. In an indeterminate future, there is a test that allows people to find out who their “soul mate” is. Far from investigating or scrutinizing the viability of such a test, the film takes it as a given, uses it to set up the story, and then brushes it aside entirely. Laura’s (Poots) best friend Simon (Goldstein) pays for her test; only her soulmate turns out to be a confident Lukas (Steven Cree), per the test, rather than Simon. Laura goes on to marry Lukas and tries to set Simon up with her friend Andrea (Hey Ashton). Laura and Simon keep meeting each other through the years, their unconfessed desire hanging between them until Laura finally capitulates and starts cheating on her husband with Simon. Simon is content to be a friend with benefits for a long time before he starts asking for more.
There is much hand-wringing and soul-searching; they engage in emotional proclamations, fights, and reconciliations. None of it seems to amount much beyond an infantilized idea of “true love.” There isn’t a deeper exploration of why they need to or should end up together; their love story very much plays out like a lust story—their attraction being carnal rather than emotional. It’s just as well since the two are hard to disentangle. But the characters’ lack of self-reflection or self-awareness about it rings hollow. A deeper investment in their friendship, in the beginning, might have added weight to their longing.
Laura is also written to be excessively volatile in her emotional swings, a persistent stereotype in films written by men. However, “All of You” does balance that by having Simon have his own emotional outbursts in the latter half. Laura is cheating on her husband and child, but the film never delves into that cost. At the same time, Simon is singularly defined by his pursuit of Laura to the exclusion of any other meaningful characteristics. Goldstein and Poots do turn in fine performances. Goldstein isn’t often cast as a romantic hero, so credit him for creating an opportunity for himself. Goldstein and Poots also pack in some heat and nudity in the sex scenes.
The “sci-fi” idea used to kickstart the film seems totally extraneous. With a few modifications, that concept could have been excised without changing the final film—that’s how little “All Of You” does with the “soul mate” test. Viewers could reasonably conclude that the test is bogus because, presumably, Simon is Laura’s soulmate rather than her husband. But that idea isn’t explored, and the entire test premise seems like an artificially engineered conflict to keep the characters apart.
“All Of You” might struggle to find a large audience, but it is worth watching for fans of Imogen Poots and especially Brett Goldstein, as they would get to see the Emmy Award-winning “Ted Lasso” star in a different capacity. (C-)
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