‘Let Them All Talk’ Review – Mundane

My blind belief and love for Meryl Streep made me have a ‘watch party’ on Amazon Prime for the 2020 movie ‘Let Them All Talk’. One girlfriend joined from Mumbai, the other from Krakow and the three of us watched this film about three girlfriends in anticipation of a crescendo… that never came. The problem is, the characters don’t talk all that much, and when they do, it isn’t as engaging as you’d expect it to be.

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the film is about a famous Pulitzer winning author Alice (Streep), who is traveling on a cruise to receive an award in England and has invited two estranged friends on the luxurious ship in a bid to re-connect. Dianne Wiest plays practical friend Susan who works with domestic abuse victims, while Candice Bergen plays the only interesting character in the entire cast – the divorced Roberta who sells lingerie and thinks Alice ruined her life by writing about her. So, while Alice attempts to make amends, Roberta tries to lure rich men on the cruise and blatantly ignores the author.

Streep-Wiest-Bergen are a terrific trio, but since their friendship in the story is fraught, they never really talk heart-to-heart and come off as a bunch of boring old ladies. There’s a mundane sub-plot involving Alice’s nephew Tyler (Lucas Hedges) who accompanies her on the ship and tries to spark a romance with his aunt’s agent Karen (Gemma Chan). Now Tyler and Karen are young, but they are just as dull as a lonely old person waiting to retire so they can stare at empty spaces the whole day.

Maybe there is a lesson for viewers, about how life can be terribly lonely for famous eccentric authors, and that you won’t necessarily be forgiven if you’ve wronged a friend… but do we need to watch a boring film to learn life can be mundane, painful and sad? I don’t think so.

It’s a 5/10 from me.