Let Them All Talk

Plot

Alice Hughes, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, is working on a manuscript her publisher hopes will be a sequel to her best-known work, You Always/You Never. Unable to fly due to her health, she takes the Queen Mary 2 to receive a literary award in the United Kingdom. She invites her nephew Tyler to assist her, along with university friends Roberta and Susan, with whom she has lost touch. Roberta believes Alice used details about her in You Always/You Never, derailing her life, and seeks an apology.

Unbeknownst to Alice, her agent Karen also boards the ship, hoping to learn about the new book. Karen befriends Tyler to gain information. Alice tells Tyler the book is about 'trying to catch lightning in a bottle for a second time.' Roberta attempts to attract wealthy men, while Susan interacts with writer Kelvin Kranz, whose popular thrillers Alice dismisses.

Tensions rise when Karen joins the group for dinner, leading to a confrontation between Alice and Roberta. Susan accuses both of selfishness.

Alice deletes her book, implied to be a sequel. After disembarking, Roberta offers to share life details for a sequel in exchange for profits, but Alice refuses. Roberta tells Alice, 'I loved you when you were Al.' That evening, Alice begins a new writing project.

Production

In August 2019, Meryl Streep and Gemma Chan were announced to star, with Steven Soderbergh directing from Deborah Eisenberg's screenplay. HBO Max acquired distribution rights, and Candice Bergen, Dianne Wiest, and Lucas Hedges joined the cast. Production began in August 2019 in New York City and continued aboard the RMS Queen Mary 2 during a two-week Atlantic crossing.

Soderbergh used only Eisenberg's story outline, allowing actors to improvise dialogue. He served as editor and cinematographer, holding the camera in a wheelchair and using only sound equipment. Streep was paid 25 cents for her role.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, a percentage of critic reviews are positive, with the consensus: 'When Steven Soderbergh rounds up a cast this talented, it's definitely wise to Let Them All Talk—and this light yet rewarding dramedy more than lives up to expectations.' Metacritic assigned a weighted average score of 72 out of 100, indicating generally favorable reviews. Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A−, praising the script and Soderbergh's cinematography.