Like most of Steven Soderbergh's recent movies, the making of "Let Them All Talk" is a much more interesting story than what ends up on screen. His latest was shot aboard the Queen Mary 2, over a short period of time, as it crossed the Atlantic Ocean. The screenplay is credited to author Deborah Eisenberg, though it is said that a great portion of "Let Them All Talk" is improvised. Soderbergh has enjoyed a long and varied career and it's exciting that he continually tries to shake up his filmmaking methods, but once his newest film docks, it feels like a bit of a shrug.
Meryl Streep (it seems redundant to put "the great" in front of her name - don't we all know by now?) stars as Alice, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who is ready to start writing her new book. Her agent Karen (Gemma Chan) informs her that she has been selected for an award. Alice is hesitant to travel and insists she can't fly, so aboard the Queen Mary 2 she goes.
Alice asks if she can bring some people with her. She is accompanied by her nephew Tyler (Lucas Hedges) and her two friends from college, Susan (Dianne Wiest) and Roberta (Candice Bergen). Alice is very close with her nephew and enjoys having this time with him, but her time aboard the ship is spent stressing about her next novel and the added pressure about following up a hit. There's great history between Alice, Susan, and Roberta - some memories more pained than others - and exploring their relationship in this stage of their life is one of the more interesting aspects of the movie.
Everyone aboard the ship has a different idea of how to spend their time. Little to Alice's knowledge, Karen is also on the cruise. She enlists Tyler to encourage his aunt to write the sequel to her book. The movie puts the characters in their individual corners, bringing them together for meals and rambling conversations. The interplay among all of these wonderful actors is what makes "Let Them All Talk" enjoyable, even when the movie is a bit meandering.
Soderbergh knows what he is doing by assembling this cast. Who wouldn't want to go on a cruise with Streep and company? The shaggy, conversational and improvisational structure allows for a more introspective performance than Streep has given as of late, which shows us Alice from the inside out.
The final act of "Let Them All Talk" is a bit jarring, with the story taking an unexpected turn, but the movie is about the characters and spending time with them. Again - who wouldn't want to do that?
"Let Them All Talk" is currently on HBO Max.
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