Imogen Poots and Brett Goldstein are not soul mates

Simon is secretly – but not subtly – in love with his best friend Laura, which makes sense because she's played by a feisty and lovable Imogen Poots. Laura never seems to have thought that way about Simon, which makes less sense because he's played by a sweet and strong Brett Goldstein (brusque enough, but so much gentler than in “Ted Lasso”). I suppose there could be any number of reasonable reasons why she didn't consider a romance with the boy from college who really receives them, but the only thing that matters about William Bridges' All of You is this: Laura and Simon live in the age of Soul Connex, a test that can scientifically determine a person's soul mate (the film's press notes suggest that it has something to do with quantum entanglement, but the film itself doesn't go into the details).

Laura is determined to deal with the Right Man, and Simon wants to show her who the real guy is so bad that he agrees to pay for her test and accompany her to the clinic. Statistically speaking, that's not the safest bet, but the heart has its reason that reason knows nothing of, and so on. And indeed, Laura is paired with a nice guy named Lukas (Steven Cree), who is a bit stuffy but unfailingly nice to her; as the film jumps forward in time, often with several months or more passing between scenes, Lukas even proves to be a wonderful father to the daughter he and Laura have.

The only problem is that Simon never stops loving her, and Laura, despite being with her soulmate, begins to feel like she's missing out on something even more satisfying than science. And so our hyperphotogenic best friends begin a long and passionate affair that lasts for many years, a blissful time constantly overshadowed by its perceived falseness. of everything. On the other hand, being someone's “soulmate” doesn't necessarily make you a good partner, any more than marrying them makes a good partner your soulmate. Cheating is cruel (especially the way Laura does it), but perhaps the real cruelty lies in being conditioned to think that one person can be responsible for everything we are and everything we want from the world.

If that makes “All of You” sound like some kind of anti-monogamy propaganda, well… the film doesn’t put things too precisely, but I think it’s a bit more complicated than that. Also, it’s safe to assume that Laura and Simon would probably run into some problems of their own if they ever got the chance to build a life together, just as it’s safe to assume that any speculative fiction about scientifically arranged partnerships has at least some few skeptical about the idea that two people can solve each other's problems without there being any mutual overlap.

Regardless, this plaintively compelling drama – co-written by Bridges and Goldstein, who have broken down a great romance into a series of sharply edited pieces – is far less interested in judging the choices of its characters than in considering how those choices conflict with one another. Laura chose to marry Lukas, and she decides to stay with him every day (whether for the sake of her daughter, out of pity for her husband, or for some other unspecified reason). At the same time, however, she also decides to with Simon, whenever their schedule allows, to enjoy a rendezvous in the British countryside; these trips are the true centre of their romantic life, and everything else is just Wait. Are these decisions compatible? Does one decision have to exclude the other?

“All of You” is elliptical in a way that allows it to pose open-ended questions without asking them clearly (and answering them with something that amounts to an omission). It’s an unusual relationship drama with a sophisticated concept, in that its concept seems to have absolutely no bearing on the story whatsoever. The Soul Connex test, which takes center stage in the opening minutes, is rarely mentioned again, and at no point does this feel like the kind of movie that could find a way to return to it; the test is more context than plot (Bridges weaves the technology into the film with the utmost lightness of touch), and unlike in “Fingernails” or similar films, you never get the feeling that the anti-tester Simon might take the test in the third act, or find out that Laura’s results were wrong, or anything like that.

If Laura had married Lucas simply because he seemed like the “right” man for her, the rest of the story would unfold the same way. The chemistry between Goldstein and Poots would still be engagingly natural (likable and renewable in a way more suited to old friends than new lovers), and the scenes between them would still hum with the faint electricity of a couple who don't have to try so hard. The relationship between Lucas and his first-act girlfriend (Zawe Ashton) would still fall apart because she realizes he's in love with Laura. Simon and Laura's picturesque trysts — which seem to dominate most of the film's running time — would still be tense but equally entertaining, with the same hot sex, heartfelt conversations and burning guilt. So why does the test even have to be part of this story? Would “All of You” be less effective as a conventional drama about two longtime friends whose bond gradually develops into a deep-rooted affair?

Maybe not, but the vanity in the heart (or at least in the start) of Bridges' debut casts a longer shadow than might seem given the speed with which the film moves away from it. People want to feel like they've made the right choice, or that a good decision could save them from a life of uncertain decisions, and it's easy to understand why Laura, and millions of other Londoners like her, find comfort in the objectivity that a soulmate offers.

But the fact is that the heart is a chaotic hunter, and a scientific degree of certainty – as comforting as that may sound – only serves to underscore how difficult it can be to subject our feelings to the circumstances we create for them. The test seems to free people from the danger of their own choices, and yet, despite its splinter-like smallness, “All of You” cuts deep enough into the concept-less reality of our own lives because it never forgets that we may not get to choose who we love, but we always have a say in the love we choose.

Grade: B-

“All of You” premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. The film is currently being distributed in the United States.

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