Much to the delight of fans everywhere, new details and first-look images have been unveiled of the upcoming gay film All of Us Strangers, starring Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott. The Irish actors play lovers in the picture, with director Andrew Haigh teasing the “fearless” chemistry between the two, particularly in the sex scenes.

Loosely based on the 1987 Japanese novel Strangers by Taichi Yamada, according to the official synopsis, the movie “follows screenwriter Adam (Scott) who, on a solitary night in his nearly vacant tower block in modern London, has an unexpected encounter with enigmatic neighbour Harry (Mescal), disrupting the cadence of his routine. As Adam and Harry grow closer, Adam is drawn back to his childhood residence, unearthing the astonishing truth that his deceased parents (Foy and Bell) are both alive and unaged, resembling the day they passed over three decades earlier.”

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Haigh gave further insight into the film and its leading characters, Mescal and Scott. Describing the more physically intimate scenes, he said: “I really wanted to feel the subjective nature of having sex and what it feels like—the nervousness and the excitement and the physical sensation of being touched by someone else, and what that does to you.”

In reference to the Irish actors’ performances, the director added, “There was chemistry between the two of them literally the second I saw them together…Both of them were pretty fearless. There was no sense of them being afraid of approaching those scenes. They knew how important they were.” 

Talking about Andrew Scott in particular, Haigh commented on the importance of casting an openly LGBTQ+ person to play Adam.

“I’m not one of those people who thinks you have to cast a queer actor in a queer role, but for this role, I did want to because I was trying to unpick some nuances of a certain generation of gay people,” he said.

“I needed someone that could understand that and have those conversations with me. I didn’t want it to feel like I was trying to explain what it was like.”

As well as receiving further information about the upcoming gay film, fans were also treated to new images, showing glimpses of Scott and Mescal as well as supporting actors Claire Foy and Jamie Bell, who play Adam’s parents. 

First Look from @VanityFair: Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal star in #AllofUsStrangers, a steamy, metaphysical love story from director Andrew Haigh. In theaters December 22. @AOUStrangers pic.twitter.com/79jLu9vk9i

— Searchlight Pictures (@searchlightpics) August 23, 2023

All of Us Strangers is due to premiere at the New York Film Festival this autumn, before its theatrical release on December 22.