Let Them All Talk
hbo maxComing as the newest addition to Steven Soderbergh's highly prolific and unique filmography, Let Them All Talk hopes to reveal a deeper truth regarding human connection. Following an aging author named Alice (Meryl Streep) who decides to invite two long time friends and nephew on a lavish voyage across the Atlantic in hopes of reconnecting, the film slowly reveals the dysfunction within their relationship and allows the audience to meditate on their actions and words. Whilst there is an undeniable charm to the film, the stakes feel distractingly trivial and the dry tone that the screenplay decides to take can become taxing to sit through after awhile.
What stands out the most within Let Them All Talk are the performances. Considering Meryl Streep could deliver an Academy Award-winning performance in her sleep, it comes as no surprise that she is a bright spot of the film in the leading role. The character, whilst genuine, is contemplative in her identity with an undercurrent of harshness and attitude. Though the role might not stand out as one of Streep's best, it is an undeniable success. Lucas Hedges delivers a very similar role to what he provides in the upcoming and surprisingly similar French Exit: a byproduct of the dysfunction who has no choice but to engage with it and find his place within the chaos. Hedges is thoughtful and charismatic, making the most out of the dry comedy within the film and standing his ground from a performance standpoint. The real shock of the film, however, comes from Dianne Wiest who plays one of Alice's friends. Though for the majority of runtime, West falls into the background of the drama between Alice and Roberta (Candice Bergen), at the end West steps it up delivering the most powerful dialogue of the entire film and truly stand out against an overall impressive cast. Not only does each of these actors stand confidently on their own, but when brought together, they have a wonderful sense of chemistry both in the fun and anger that the screenplay provides them.
The actual physical space that the film takes place in also is a clear standout. The RMS Queen Mary 2 not only feels unique as a setting but also is the perfect catalyst to enhance the drama of the film. These characters are trapped on a ship, which confines them to see each other but also is large enough to give each character space to flesh out and go on their own various adventures. The ship is also grand and lavish, serving as a classy playground for these often insane and emotional fools. The cinematography – also from Steven Soderbergh – is often stunning, capturing the size of the ship in magnificent detail; though admittedly, the film editing – specifically the choice to increase the saturation – feels forced and unneeded. What is absolutely needed is the score within the film by Thomas Newman, which is playing spoiler as being one of the best scores of the year. Vibrant and energetic, the score within Let Them All Talk is yet another stellar outing for the legendary composer.
Whilst these aspects of the film truly do connect and feel inspired, it is the screenplay from Deborah Eisenberg where the quality starts to become more debatable. Though there is an undeniable charm to the characters and their dynamics, the film is undeniably dry and feels artificially crafted. At its highest points feeling like an early work of Wes Anderson and at its lowest being a boring and dragged-out film, especially towards the center of its runtime, the screenplay is going to be the largest factor that causes the film to become inaccessible for various audiences. Perhaps the worst crime of the screenplay comes from how trivial it feels. Let Them All Talk is largely a film without deep emotional stakes to hook audiences and truly make them care about these characters. Instead, it thrives in its petty and more trivial drama that is fun but ultimately meaningless. Whilst this is plenty to entertain and engage for a 90-minute feature, it doesn't quite have the same effectiveness for a film that is just over 2 hours long – ultimately, making it hard to sit through especially in the middle.
Let Them All Talk is a strange feature. On one hand, the film is a complete blast with a dry attitude and lavish setting that is incredibly watchable and inexplicably seductive. On the other hand, the film is hollow and overly slow. At the end of the day, it is hard to think that most audiences will find themselves enjoying Let Them All Talk and engaging with the feature as much as the film would hope for but, for a certain group of audience members who enjoy dry dialogue with flares of personality and don't need a ton of thematic weight, Let Them All Talk will be an overall fun and worthwhile viewing experience.
