“All of Us Strangers” — “The Power of Love”
![ALL OF US STRANGERS, from left: Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, 2023. © Searchlight Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/MCDALOF_H4017.jpg?w=300)
“All of Us Strangers” ends (spoiler alert!) with a lot of permanent goodbyes — and then Andrew Scott begins to whisper. “I’ll protect you from The Hooded Claw / Keep the vampires from the door,” he says, late at night. Cue: Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “The Power of Love,” a swooning, melodramatic ballad that walks the line between heartfelt sincerity and self-mocking earnestness. In many ways, the song is the aural equivalent of the tonal tightrope of Andrew Haigh’s film (Haigh wrote the song into the script), which manages to treat serious topics with a deft touch and lend gravitas to light-hearted moments. Has a night out at a bar ever seemed more carefree — or seemed to cost as much? As the song soars to its ambiguous conclusion (“Make love your goal”) and the end credits roll, the movie is deepened by the song, as only a perfectly deployed needle drop can do. —MP