Let Them All Talk is an American comedy-drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh. It stars Meryl Streep, Gemma Chan, Dianne Wiest, Candice Bergen, and Lucas Hedges in main roles. It was released on 10th December 2020, digitally on HBO Max.
Alice (Meryl Streep) is a popular author and is receiving a prestigious award for her work in England. She invites two of her best friends from the college days, Roberta (Candice Bergen) a lingerie saleswoman, and Susan (Dianne Wiest) who has not met Alice for more than 30 years. Alice's nephew Tyler (Lucas Hedges) is also invited to join the journey and her agent or assistant Karen (Gemma Chan) sets her up on a lavish cruise Queen Mary 2 as she's not comfortable to fly.
Without Alice's knowledge she joins the ride and comes close to Tyler, tasking him to inform her what she is writing next, is it going to be a sequel to her successful You Always You Never novel or something new. Whereas Roberta has her own reasons to join this trip as she thinks that Alice has written the novel based on her life and her unsuccessful marriage without even asking. So what will happen when all these messed-up emotions come together?
Deborah Eisenberg has penned the story and screenplay which is quite good and Steven Soderbergh's unconventional touch makes it even more absorbing. He's been known to deliver mysteriously delicious movies and here he's juggling with emotions of a complex nature novelist when she tried to call her companions of college to join her on the trip. This is not about the award she's winning, there's more to it and Soderbergh's direction here makes this film stands differently from any other dramedy films.
In Bollywood, we have Dil Dhadakne Do which showcased the uneasiness and havoc of emotions of a rich family, between the parents and their grown up children. Don't know why, watching the big cruise and handling the emotions strongly reminded me of that. The best thing here is that Soderbergh has given the liberty to the actors to improvise their own dialogues and to have a conversation normally which really comes out as the most effective thing as the scenes looks and feels genuine, the actors stammering gives realism to their lines and feels as if we are watching a documentary.
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With Queen Mary 2 in the background, it is strikingly beautiful to see every frame and the riveting scenes and interactions are captivating and the awkwardness between the three friends is superbly carved out. The film has different tracks going on like the lovely track of Tyler and Karen, and the effective scenes of Roberta and Susan together. It tries to build a mystery somehow as a man walks out of Alice's room in the early morning as Tyler went to her room to have breakfast. But everything comes together to fit in in the climax which surely comes as a shock.
Meryl Streep has given a stellar performance as Alice. From Julia (1977) to The Laundromat, she's unstoppable. Candice Bergen as Roberta is a treat to see, her "Oh! I Can't" always gives an inside laugh and she's perfect whereas Lucas Hedges as Tyler is also impressive and quite effective even with his no dialogue and minimal expressive face. Gemma Chan as Karen has looked gorgeous and has done a fine job. The scene-stealer is undoubtedly Dianne Wiest. She plays Susan and what a wonderful and sweet performance it is. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing her getting nominated or winning awards in supporting roles.
Steven Soderbergh has also handled the Camerawork and the picturization is beautiful and some scenes are breathtaking. Not a single second it makes you forget that it has been shot on a real cruise. With the wide shots and with no artificial lighting the scenes pop out giving strong and efficient fragments from the film. The music is also amazing and some scenes fully rely on music and background scores and that do not disappoint a bit.
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Let Them All Talk by Steven Soderbergh is among the years best films. Just like its name it depends on its dialogue and is quite a talky film with the actor's interactions and conversations that are so natural that it won't bore you for sure. Just like many films it questions does success changes a friendship and a relationship and how does it change him/her as a person? The bad effect of success and jealousy to see other person succeeding is what it deals with in its core and tries to show you with its central character. This is a trip you don't wanna miss. Well if you love fast-paced cinemas then this is definitely not for you.
Rating:- 3.5/5
Now streaming on HBO Max.
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