All of Us Strangers Ending Explained Review

All of Us Strangers Book Vs Movie review is here to reveal what transpired behind the death of a character, which turned out to be the most predictable plot twist of all. One could easily spend the whole day reading the examples on the “Dead All Along” page.

However, by portraying All of Us Strangers as a single ghost story when it is two, Andrew Haigh’s film hides an ultimately devastating surprise.

A reclusive and artistically blocked screenwriter named Adam (Andrew Scott) resides in a nearly empty apartment complex on the outskirts of London.

All of Us Strangers Book Vs Movie Review

All of Us Strangers nearly makes us wonder if Adam will also die at the end when they turn into a star. Adam never interacts with anyone in the movie save Harry and his parents; in the book, he converses with others and is even seen by others to be with ghosts. 

Generally, it’s the books that tend toward ambiguous endings, but in this case, the movie left you wondering while the book neatly wrapped everything up. 

Perhaps this is partially because Yamada gave a more definitive ending. After all, like his character, he had previously worked as a screenwriter. By the way, Taichi Yamada went away in November of 2023; may he rest in peace.

The movie omits the fact that Adam’s relationship with ghosts is killing him, but it leaves out another important aspect of the narrative: Adam is gay. 

The home they used for Adam’s childhood is director Andrew Haigh’s real childhood home, and Haigh identifies as gay. 

These are personal touches that the director made because they mean more to them than merely making the film more palatable to the masses. 

He related this story to himself as a gay man because he thought it was compelling. Notable differences include the following;

Adam and Hideo

In the book, Hideo is a screenwriter who is 47 years old, almost 48 years old, and recently divorced. Although he was the one who desired the divorce, it didn’t take long for his wife to come around and appreciate that he had brought it up.

In the film, Adam plays a screenwriter in his late 40s who lives alone in a brand-new apartment complex with Harry as his only other occupant. 

Adam is gay in the film, and he doesn’t have an ex-wife or son. While working on an unrelated TV script in the book, he is writing a script about his parents in the movie.

His Parents

Following this interaction with Harry/Kei, Adam/Hideo decides to go see his parents’ home. 

In the book, he is out shopping for a tie for himself on his birthday, but he tells the salesperson it is a gift for someone else. He chooses to board a train that is headed to his hometown because he is depressed and lonely.

As we know, he writes about his parents and experiences from his childhood in the film before deciding to visit the house.

As he gets to know Harry in the film, he informs him that his parents passed away when he was a young child. When Harry tells Adam how sorry he is to hear this, Adam responds, “Well, that was a long time ago.” 

Harry/Kei

In both, when he later runs into Harry or Kei in the building, they both say they’re sorry for the previous night’s inebriation. 

He assures them not to worry and proposes that they meet up later. By the way, Adam/Hideo is 15–20 years older than Harry/Kei in both cases.

This is a factor in both, but in the film, it was intriguing to observe how their experiences as gay were impacted by their age difference. 

Later in the film, Harry visits Adam, and the two start dating. After a while, they head to a club where Harry consumes what Adam believes to be coke but is ketamine. 

Processing Grief and Trauma

The protagonist of both films has experienced stunted adulthood as a result of his parents’ deaths. 

He can deal with his grief and their deaths at the end of both when he bids them farewell. Adam’s homosexuality and upbringing in a homophobic environment are additional elements in the film that compound his trauma and grief.

The friend who assists Kei later on in the book claims that what they saw wasn’t real and that they were just a little crazy. Saying a silent thank you to Kei and his parents, Hideo says he believes he has been fine.