Let Them All Talk (2020) Movie Review

Let Them All Talk is the latest from director Steven Soderbergh who continues to broaden his range and keep you on your toes with his forays into different subject matter and genres. This time he takes the story to sea.

Author Alice Hughes (Meryl Streep) is going to receive an award in England but can’t fly. So she takes a cruise and invites two of her best friends from college whom she hasn’t seen in a while. Susan (Dianne Wiest) and Roberta (Candice Bergen) agree to go on the cruise to try to reconnect with their old friend while also searching for some answers about their own lives. Alice also brings along her nephew Tyler (Lucas Hedges) who simply adores her and views her through a somewhat nicer lens than others. Also on the ship is Alice’s agent Karen (Gemma Chan) who is hoping to convince Alice to write a sequel to her most famous novel.

You’d think with a big name like Streep involved she would be the movie’s central figure and be involved in every scene. That couldn’t be further from what Soderbergh does here. The movie does revolve around Alice and how her life and writing have affected each of the other characters but Streep doesn’t have a lot of dialogue or all that much screen time. Soderbergh showcases Tyler more than anyone. He is forced to navigate some tricky relationships as he juggles Susan and Roberta as well as Karen, who blatantly asks him to spy on Alice for her.

While on the cruise we get to know each character through intimate conversations. Susan advocates for incarcerated women and is much more forgiving when it comes to Alice. Roberta on the other hand is convinced that Alice used their lives (mainly Roberta’s failed marriage) to create her most famous book. It’s clear that each friend dealt with the success and failures of their own lives in unique ways.

At its core, Let Them All Talk is a movie about success and how one friend’s success affected the entire group. You learn the least about Alice, who shrouds herself in mystery and spends most of her days writing alone in her room. At one point Susan muses, “When did she start talking like that?” signaling that success as a writer must have gone to Alice’s head.

The performances are really interesting, with rumors swirling that much of the scenes were improvised by the actors. In that sense it feels very authentic and genuine, particularly with Tyler, as he stumbles over his words and tries to make sense of his feelings for Karen.

The aimless meandering of the camera through the ship, mirrors the aimless wanderings of each character. Susan just wants to read and play board games while Roberta is on the prowl for a man who can support her. Alice is searching for the right words to write and Peter is searching for himself. These moments might seem boring to some but they’re infused with a rawness that I found to be refreshing.

Soderbergh only slips up slightly towards the end. The movie doesn’t feel whole but merely a conglomeration of scenes that are intriguing. There’s a “surprise” ending that almost felt as if Soderbergh and writer Deborah Eisenberg weren’t quite sure how to wrap it up. The individual scenes are compelling enough that the ending doesn’t disrupt the entire viewing of the movie, but I had hoped for a bit more.

Let Them All Talk certainly won’t be a movie for everyone. It’s slow moving and as the title suggests concentrates largely on conversations exploring each character’s past and current relationships. But Soderbergh’s editing and cinematography skills shine through here as he pieces together the ship’s landscapes as well as the landscapes of the characters’ emotional journey. 

Film or Movie: Movie
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You are a Soderbergh fan
2. You like talking dramas
3. You want a quiet contemplative story