Set in the final hours of 1959, All Us Animals centers on June (Lexa Gluck), who hosts a New Year’s Eve party with her husband Wolfie (Nick Puya). As the fireworks burst outside, an unexpected arrival—June’s childhood friend Dolores (Celia Massingham)—stirs the emotional undercurrents just beneath the surface of June’s marriage. While guests drink and dance, tension simmers between June and Wolfie, especially after he shares a private moment with Dolores. Meanwhile, June and Dolores reconnect deeply, reigniting old feelings and contemplating the possibility of running away together, something they had dreamed about for years.
The party spirals further when Clark (Julian Vlcan), drunk and unpredictable, crashes the evening and adds a layer of chaos. The web of strained relationships, unspoken desires, and unresolved pasts builds toward an emotionally charged climax. With storm clouds gathering both literally and figuratively, June and Dolores must decide whether to act on their shared longing or continue living lives defined by repression and routine.
Writer-director David Hartstone crafted the film around a single imagined moment from Lexa Gluck: two women in the 1950s planning to run away together. Inspired by that image, Hartstone and his team embraced a visual style that mirrors the story’s themes—blending the classic elegance of mid-century melodrama with expressive lighting and raw emotion.
Nick Puya, Lexa Gluck, and Celia Massingham as Wolfie, June, and Dolores in a tense scene from All Us Animals.
“…June and Dolores reconnect deeply, reigniting old feelings…”
Making a black-and-white movie is so much more than just shooting in black and white or removing color in post. Hartstone has a masterful grasp of his imagery, including his use of lighting and contrast to heighten drama. Hartstone then tells a story full of drama, tension, and heartbreak.
There’s no doubt the cast here is having fun. It’s period pieces like All Us Animals that allow actors to push the boundaries of authenticity and step over it, while still falling in line with the rules of noir.
All Us Animals closes on a note of quiet but powerful ambiguity, leaving June and Dolores at the edge of a life-changing decision. The emotions that have built throughout the evening—desire, resentment, and longing—hang in the air as the night ends, with no clear answer to whether they will break free or remain bound by convention. It’s a fittingly dramatic ending for a story about the risks and costs of following the heart.
"…emotions…hang in the air as the night ends, with no clear answer…"
