[Tribeca 2024] ALL THAT WE LOVE -- Maudlin Drama About Loss Mostly Satisfies

Review by Sean Boelman

It’s always nice to see an indie filmmaker get to work with an ensemble of A-list stars and tell a story with more mainstream breakout potential. This is the case with Malaysian-American filmmaker Yen Tan, whose latest film, All That We Love, features an ensemble led by recognizable faces like Margaret Cho and Jesse Tyler Ferguson, among others. The result is a generally pleasant watch, even if it doesn't “wow” in any way.  

The movie follows a woman who, after the unexpected loss of her beloved dog, faces a flurry of emotions and possibly even a rekindling of passion as she sets out to start anew. From the film's opening moments, it’s clear what kind of experience you are in for. Beginning a movie with a scene of a woman crying and holding her dead dog makes it clear to viewers that they are in for a sentimental tear-jerker. 

For those charmed by the lowest common denominator of canine dramas, this is satisfying — perhaps even a little better than average. It has a few laughs and more than a few heartfelt moments that will leave a bittersweet smile on your face. However, it’s clear that Clay Liford and Yen Tan’s tribute to the people — and animals — we love has greater aspirations that are never delivered on.  

The maudlin tone of All That We Love isn’t helped much by Tan’s overwrought style. The cinematography is oversaturated, and the score is overbearing. It’s not “show, don’t tell” filmmaking or even “tell, don’t show” — it’s “show AND tell” filmmaking, doing everything in its power to get the audience to feel sad.

It’s a shame that Tan felt the need to resort to these near-manipulative filmmaking tactics, as the story could have spoken for itself. Animal-centric stories are generally some of the easiest to win audiences over, as most viewers will immediately empathize with a character’s love for their furry friend. When you add another universal theme like grief into the mix, it becomes even more poignant.

However, All That We Love has a nasty tendency to overcomplicate itself. Instead of sticking with this simple story of a woman grieving the loss of her parent, we get an interconnected web of stories, each of the protagonist’s acquaintances having their own arc. While the loss of a pet is certainly devastating, it feels almost reductive to compare this to other experiences like grieving a partner or losing one’s life to addiction.

That said, Tan assembled a strong ensemble, elevating the material above its melodramatic shortcomings. Margaret Cho plays her character in a way that feels constantly grounded, even when the character’s actions feel borne out of the need for cinematic conflict rather than genuine character growth. Jesse Tyler Ferguson is another standout, giving a performance that, while a tad on the stereotypical side at times, provides a solid foil to Cho.

It’s hard to hate a movie like All That We Love, with a heart in the right place and a story that just desperately wants to charm. However, there’s really not much to the movie beyond the surface. At under 90 minutes, it gets a pass, but don’t expect to walk away feeling much of a connection to the material beyond the bare minimum.

All That We Love is screening at the 2024 Tribeca Festival, which runs June 5-16 in New York City.

Rating: 3/5