William Bridges’ romantic drama All Of You, starring Brett Goldstein and Imogen Poots, is a thoughtful analysis of the concept of soulmates in a world where an app can track down one’s ‘perfect match’. The film delves into the question of whether individuals will still choose the process of finding/falling in love over finding the right person immediately after filling out a form. Simon and Laura had been best friends since their university days. They knew each other like the back of their palms, and whenever they were together, their worries immediately disappeared. Simon repeatedly warned Laura to not sign up for the ‘Test,’ a scientific process invented to help people find their soulmate instead of spending years or even lifetimes finding the right match. Laura refused to listen to Simon. She wanted to find the man of her dreams at the earliest, and the ‘Test’ was exactly what she’d been searching for. Did Simon and Laura lose touch after Laura found her soulmate? Did the technology actually work? The film unfolds over a span of decades, capturing every moment Simon and Laura had spent together.
Spoiler Alert
Was Simon in love with Laura?
The ‘Test’ turned out to be successful, and Laura found her soulmate—Lukas. He was caring, understanding, extremely loving, and pretty much everything Laura had been searching for. Her father had never approved of Laura’s partners, but he loved Lukas and thought he was ‘the greatest guy that ever lived.’ Laura wasn’t used to such a reaction from him, though she was glad that he liked Lukas. She would’ve never thought he was her soulmate, because the first time she’d met him, she assumed there had been some mistake, but the more she got to know him, the more she fell in love with him. Simon was happy for his best friend, but as he’d already anticipated, they met less often than they used to before. But when Laura went through a miscarriage scare, Simon was the person she turned to, and he accompanied her to the hospital. He always knew how to keep Laura distracted, so when he saw her tearing up, he cracked jokes in an attempt to make her smile—and it worked. It had been quite some time since they’d met, but the moment they were together, there was an instant connection. Simon left soon after Lukas arrived at the hospital; he knew the couple needed to be together by themselves.
A significant amount of time passed before Laura and Simon met again, this time on a double date. We discover that Laura had given birth to a baby girl, and they were one happy family. Simon was dating Laura’s friend, Andrea, and the fact that she too didn’t believe in finding a soulmate through the ‘Test’ made it easier for them to bond. While they were having dinner together, Andrea noticed the way Simon looked at Laura when she fondly spoke of her relationship with Lukas. Clearly, he’d always wished to be ‘the person’ for Laura, but somehow it just didn’t happen, and hearing her mention how lucky she felt to have Lukas by her side left him a little broken. When they stepped out of the restaurant, Andrea broke up with Simon. She’d always guessed that Simon felt deeply for Laura, but seeing the way he looked at her left no doubt in her mind.
The next time Laura and Simon met was at Laura’s father’s wake. She had been going through a rough time navigating her emotions and keeping up a brave face, and the only person she knew could help her feel better was Simon. And she was right. The moment they met, she could instantly pour her heart out to him, and he knew just exactly what to say to make her feel better. Lukas was a loving husband and a dedicated father. While Laura tried to cope with her father’s passing, Lukas took complete responsibility for their daughter, Sascha. He also planned the wake so Laura didn’t have to worry about a thing. He was just perfect, and sometimes Laura wondered if she was enough for him. She’d come to realize that maybe the day she went to take the ‘Test,’ somewhere deep down, Simon had hoped that he would be chosen as Laura’s soulmate. She even asked Simon if what she’d come to realize was true, but he didn’t entertain her assumption. He was overcome with guilt when he interacted with Lukas—he wasn’t a jealous husband; rather, he encouraged Simon to keep Laura distracted, and he evidently valued the friendship that they shared. Simon decided to leave; he didn’t wish to stir any feelings in Laura.
Why did Laura sleep with Simon?
Soon after he went to his apartment, the doorbell rang, and Laura was on the other side. She didn’t say a word and proceeded to kiss Simon. The two made passionate love, but immediately after, Laura regretted her decision. She wanted to believe that she was in a terrible headspace and that was why she’d made such a radical decision, it didn’t really mean anything. But she knew she was lying to herself. It was not just the tragedy of losing her father that made her want to do something drastic. She’d come to realize that the only person she craved to see on her worst days had always been Simon; he had the magical power of fixing her when she was completely broken. But the truth was daunting, and when Simon confronted her about the night, she pretended it was a mistake. Simon was confused; he knew that it wasn’t a random thing that they did. They’d always harbored feelings for one another and secretly craved physical proximity. Immediately after Laura walked out of the diner after her brief meeting with Simon, he found her waiting outside. She knew she couldn’t stay away from him, and the only way to deal with the situation was by admitting the fact that she adored him.
Why did Laura refuse to part ways with Lukas?
Once Laura and Simon admitted to each other that they desired to be more than just friends, they started to go on short vacations together. Their little escapades became the highlight of their lives. The first time Laura lied to her husband to be with Simon, she felt so guilty that she had almost abandoned their plan, but then again, she realized she couldn’t really function without Simon. She had learned to accept that Lukas was the man she went home to, and Simon was the adventure that kept her happy and sane. After her father’s death, Laura had come across a box of letters exchanged between her father and a woman he loved while he was married. The woman was understanding of his situation, so even though they barely met, they always wrote to each other, and her father carefully kept all the letters. She, at times, didn’t understand why he chose not to divorce her mother and live happily forever with his lover. But gradually she realized that walking out of a marriage wasn’t easy. It wouldn’t have been fair to his loving wife or his innocent daughter; as a decent man, he chose his family over his happiness. Laura chose to do the same when she got involved with Simon. She made it very clear from the start that she wouldn’t divorce Lukas, because she couldn’t afford to break her family apart.
Simon supported her decision and tried to make peace with their arrangement, especially after Laura one day admitted that she was in love with him. But gradually, he realized that he wanted more from Laura. He hoped to be with her at all times instead of a couple days only when their schedules aligned. He didn’t wish to hide their affair from the world anymore. Laura admitted that they were hurting people, but at the same time, she wasn’t ready to get a divorce. She possibly had convinced herself that Lukas was her soulmate, and even if Simon brought her immense joy, he was never meant to be her husband/lifelong partner. She had placed so much faith in the technological process that she didn’t trust her instincts anymore. Simon couldn’t figure out why getting a divorce was such an impossible option for Laura when she was clearly not satisfied in her marriage. Simon decided to end their affair; he believed he deserved to have someone in his life he didn’t have to share. Since Laura made it clear that she would never leave her marriage, Simon decided it was best to walk away.
What brought Simon and Laura back together?
Simon and Laura unexpectedly crossed paths once again at a book launch. After they broke up, Simon tried finding love, and he hooked up with a couple of women, but none made him feel the way he did with Laura. He was with his girlfriend at the event, but the moment he noticed Laura, he knew he had to speak to her. Simon saw Laura leave the event; she was visibly tense and uncomfortable. He followed her outside and asked how she was doing. Even though they pretended to be doing alright at first, they soon admitted that nothing was really the same since they parted ways. Simon confessed that even though he’d tried to move on, he never got over her. He’d decided to move to California since there was nothing holding him back anymore. Laura tried to hold back her emotions and leave, but she couldn’t hold back her tears once she realized that she would perhaps never see Simon again. Simon felt the urgency to confess how important she was to him. He was addicted to her, and he didn’t have a remedy. In the end, Laura and Simon kissed, and they decided to spend one last vacation together before Simon left.
What is the theme of the film?
All Of You’s ending delves into the process of falling in love. It poses the question of whether technology can ever truly replace the joy of finding love unexpectedly. Are we as a society too obsessed with finding the right person, and doesn’t that rob us of the many encounters with the wrong matches that leave individuals with good and bad experiences that shape one’s personality and help them grow? An app can help you find your ‘perfect’ match based on data and personality, but love is not a mathematical equation that can be solved so easily. A person who might be perfect on paper, in this case Lukas, didn’t clearly stir the romantic passion that Laura was searching for. He was a supportive husband, an ideal son-in-law, and a devoted father, but he wasn’t someone who completed Laura. The ‘Test’ didn’t consider Simon the right fit, possibly because he didn’t match all the criteria that Laura had brought up, but there was no denying that he was Laura’s soulmate. Simon chose to trust his feelings over taking the ‘Test,’ and that was how he always knew Laura was the one for him. Even though their circumstances weren’t ideal, that didn’t really mean that the love they shared wasn’t fulfilling. The fleeting moments he got to spend with her were far more enriching than meeting his ‘ideal match’ through the ‘Test’ and spending the rest of his life with that person. When they met one last time before Simon headed to California, Laura asked him if he ever felt she didn’t do him right, and evidently Simon didn’t think that way. He regretted not stopping Laura the day she signed up for the ‘Test,’ because if he’d shown the courage to tell her his true feelings, maybe things would’ve been different. He’d learned an important lesson the hard way—to do things that he always delayed because he mustn’t live a life of regret. Simon had contacted his father after thirty-five years, only to find out that he’d died four years ago. He didn’t get the closure he was searching for, but at least he tried to make things right one last time. Simon’s father had abandoned him when he was a child, after he fell in love with a woman, an alcoholic, whom Simon didn’t connect with.
Did the lovers end up together?
Laura wishfully dreamt of leaving everything behind and settling with Simon in California, but they both knew that was quite impossible. Laura was afraid of hurting her family, so she chose to go through the agonizing pain of parting ways with the love of her life. Not all love stories have a happy ending, and Laura and Simon had come to accept that as their fate. Even if Simon stayed back, they would once again end up getting into a heated argument over Laura’s decision to not divorce her husband. And maybe somewhere deep down, Laura was afraid that her dynamics with Simon would drastically change if they got into a marital relationship. He was her escape, and she was scared of ruining the most beautiful relationship she had ever had with everyday mundaneness. The uncertainty stopped her from taking the leap; she didn’t wish to lose her best friend in the process. Laura tried to be a loving wife, but her feelings for Simon definitely had an impact on her marriage. It wasn’t fair to Lukas, no matter what, he deserved to know the truth. But she wanted both him and herself to believe in the illusion that their lives were perfect, and she knew quite well that their marriage would work as long as she didn’t walk out of it.
In All Of You’s ending, before Laura left, Simon wanted her to know that he would miss her every single day. He struggled to hold back his tears as he watched her leave. Laura, too, got emotional on her way back home. They never knew when they would ever see each other again, but the one thing that they’d realized was that they would always have the memories of each other to hold on to, like the box of letters that Laura’s father had carefully kept all his life. One can also draw the conclusion that maybe someday they would get a chance to be together once again, and well, wishful thinking isn’t uncommon in romantic dramas. But maybe Laura and Simon had realized that what they shared was beautiful as it was, and they didn’t wish to complicate it with expectations and responsibilities. Hopefully, they will at least check on each other time and again; after all, they have always been the best of friends.
