The second I saw that Brett Goldstein from Ted Lasso would be in All of You premiering at TIFF 2024 I was on board. Then I realized it was a dramatic role, putting him smack in the middle of a love triangle and I was even more intrigued. Having only seen him as the rough and mean Roy Kent on Ted Lasso, I wasn’t sure how he would pull off a leading man role, but hints of love stories in the series led me to believe he had more to show us.
I’ve never been so glad to be right. All of You is a bittersweet love story with a bit of an alternate reality twist. In this future, you can pay a sum of money to take a test that will match you up with your one true soulmate. Goldstein plays Simon, who is best friend to Laura (Imogen Poots), who decides to take the test. Ultimately, against the process in general, he teases her the whole time, and we get a look at their close relationship with playful back-and-forth banter.
The film jumps time over and over again, similar to We Live in Time, but the jumps are only linear this time. We see the friends slowly move on with their lives and grow apart. Laura ends up with her soulmate, living long distance while Simon is playing the field. Next, Simon has moved in with someone, and Laura is living with Simon and trying for children. The story progresses like this through the years, bringing us through relationship ups and downs, children growing, promotions and more. One thing remains constant in All of You, though, Simon and Laura always fall back into each other’s lives.
“Although All of You is a beautiful story, it feels a little slow at times, despite its 1-hour, 38-minute runtime.”
It isn’t until Laura’s father dies that she acts on impulse, moving her relationship with Simon to something more—something complicated. As a married woman and a mother, the two carry on an affair for years, and again, we see the on-again, off-again relationship, though now it is romantic and sneaking around. Eventually, this takes its toll on the two, with Simon feeling left behind and Laura riddled with guilt.
Love is complicated and messy, and it certainly isn’t black and white. All of You, much like Young Werther, takes viewers on a journey where we aren’t entirely sure who we are supposed to be rooting for. Goldstein and Poots have us sold on the relationship long before they even know they are in love. However, rooting for them eventually means advocating for divorce, which can be messy with children.
All of You pushes the idea of different kinds of love. With “the test” claiming to reveal a person’s one true soulmate, many believe it provides the ultimate answer and that there will be no other love. However, through Laura, we see this isn’t necessarily true. For much of the film, we are led to believe Laura is staying with her husband Lukas (Steven Cree) because she’s supposed to, but later she explains her feelings for him. She truly loves her husband, but it’s a completely different love than what she feels for Simon. All of You explores what happens when you fall in love with more than one person, as in Laura’s case, and what happens when you can love no one but her, as in Simon’s case.
“One thing remains constant in All of You, though, Simon and Laura always fall back into each other’s lives.”
Writing credits go to director William Bridges and Brett Goldstein, and together, the two created a film that makes you question everything you believe about love. The dialogue between Poots and Goldstein takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions, but it’s the glances they share in All of You that tell a story words cannot. Whether it’s his eyes in the rearview mirror or the quick glances they exchange in a room full of people, this duo keeps you invested in their relationship, even when you think it might end. Goldstein surprised me with a softness and vulnerability, which I wasn’t sure he could pull off, but he does it with ease.
Although All of You is a beautiful story, it feels a little slow at times, despite its 1-hour, 38-minute runtime. Additionally, “the test” only really factors in when justifying Laura staying with Lukas. However, Goldstein and Poots share a rare chemistry, rooted first in friendship, that few on-screen duos can match. Conveying a relationship that is silly, passionate, and deep can easily fall flat, but the two manage it effortlessly.
All of You could use some tightening and make better use of a major plot point, but Brett Goldstein and Imogen Poots tell a beautiful story about how different love can be for each person.
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