Imagine you’re single and searching for your soulmate and there’s a test that promises to match you with that person. Simple, right? No more faff, no endless dating apps, no uncertainty. Just the certainty of destiny, wrapped up in science.
We start with university friends Laura (Imogen Poots) and Simon (Brett Goldstein). He takes her to get the test done, though Simon’s clearly not convinced by the whole idea. Laura, however, is determined. From there the film unfolds across several years, flashing forward through different chapters of their lives. Laura does meet her soulmate, marries him, and even has a child, while Simon eventually realises that he has feelings for her. They drift apart, circle back together, and though other people come and go, the film really feels like a two-hander between them.
Each time we jump forward, I found myself needing to quickly reorient who’s with who, is this a happy moment or a sad one? That repetition actually works in the film’s favour, giving us a sense of the relentlessness of life moving on. The pacing ensures we never linger too long in moments once they’ve given us what we need, but sometimes I did wish for a clearer timeline it would have made the emotional shifts land even harder.
The sci-fi element is understated but effective. From the sleek car Simon drives to the eerie rush of commercials plastered across London, it’s a believable near-future backdrop rather than the main event. What impressed me was learning that Brett Goldstein and William Bridges first told this story as a short film years ago, and now, after nearly 15 years, it’s been expanded into a feature. That long gestation shows in the care of the concept.
Performance-wise, it’s refreshing to see Goldstein in a different kind of role than Ted Lasso’s Roy Kent. He brings a quiet vulnerability here, while Imogen Poots carries the emotional weight beautifully. Their chemistry feels genuine, if not quite electric, which suits the tone this isn’t a whirlwind romance, but something quieter, sadder, and more complicated.
The film itself feels calm, crisply made, and tinged with melancholy. We want Laura and Simon to end up together, yet the premise denies that outcome, creating a tension that lingers long after the credits and considering it was shot in just 28 days, the result is all the more impressive.
All of Us isn’t a flashy sci-fi romance it’s a thoughtful, bittersweet exploration of choice, fate, and the people we hold onto even when life insists on pulling us apart.