Written by: Brett Goldstein & William Bridges
Starring: Brett Goldstein, Imogen Poots, Zawe Ashton, Steven Cree, Jenna Coleman
Rating: [3/5]
Science and emotion do not always gel, as the way things are and how we feel do not consistently line up. Therefore, allowing science to tell humans the identity of their soulmate erases the natural way we have found our mates through of our history. A fact All of You wrestles with as two friends find a love between each other that does not happen at the right time in their lives.
Great friends for years, Laura (Imogen Poots) and Simon (Brett Goldstein) have never explored a romantic relationship with each other, even if the latter feels they could. When she takes a test offered by a company promising to identity one’s soulmate, she gets matched up with a man named Lukas (Steven Cree). As she marries Lukas and they have a child, Laura remains close with Simon, but as she begins to have doubts of her current life circumstances, the old friends begin an affair.
The concept of a soulmate can lead to many long and drawn out discussions. Personally, I believe my wife is my soulmate, the person I was meant to find in this world to be my partner. However, one could feasibly argue how one can be so certain of soulmates where 7 billion humans exist in this world and the one person you’re destined to be with happens to go to the same college as you or you both swiped right on some dating app. All of You presents a circumstance where science can definitively prove one’s soulmate, but the dynamic built over the years between Laura and Simon appears to disrupt the notion.
In a sense, one can view the battle of Laura deciding to stay with her family or run away with Simon as a battle between science and human emotion. Staying with Lukas, whom she claims to still love, represents the person science proved she should spend the rest of her life with, while Simon symbolizes a raw human connection outside of anything official or quantifiable. Whichever of those wins out say plenty about what this film believes and ultimately, it leaves a positive impression.
There’s a distinct beauty in the romantic relationship built between these two old friends, as it displays the classical way two individuals would get together. Nothing predetermined, but rather built on the foundation of common interests existing between them that naturally brings them together. Adding in the notion of learning definitively one’s soulmate cheapens the beginnings of a dynamic we have grown accustomed to, which makes me curious as to what those initial dates between Laura and Lukas must have looked like. The film does now show it for us, but I cannot imagine what it must have been for Laura to approach Lukas and state that they’re meant to be together and science proves it. However, this plays into the doubts as while science tells her one thing, her heart leads her to want to cheat on her soulmate with the person that perhaps she should spend the rest of her days with.
The moments shared by Laura and Simon during their intimate moments makes you yearn for them to be together because of this great chemistry crafted by Brett Goldstein and Imogen Poots. These two characters cannot exist in the same room without having this palpable energy emanate between them. However, the big hurdle, which the film never ceases to remind audiences, is the reality that this is infidelity on Laura’s part and as much as Simon says he knows not to ask more from her, our humanity will inevitably change our minds. In a sense it makes this film quite simple narratively, but the audience roots for this infidelity between the pair, even if Lukas does nothing to indicate he deserves this. A strange place to put audiences, but one that really speaks to how well this film makes us care about the dynamic between the two leads and the inevitable heartbreak one way or another that will transpire.
All of You contains this battle between science and human emotion, but it also emphasizes the importance of decisions we do and do not make. It asks the questions of why Simon did not express his feelings before, how it would have impacted their lives, and the success of a romantic relationship between them. The film also asks what it would take for Laura to throw everything away she has built with her supposed soulmate to be with the person she claims to love so deeply. Truly a messy film but one that kept me engaged throughout and made me appreciate these two leads and the wonderful chemistry they build.
Films with Josh 
