It’s easy to forget that the multiverse is a concept that can exist outside of superhero films. What with the first major introduction in 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, then really hitting the big time more recently with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But the multiverse hasn’t really been explored outside of superhero films, for no other reason than nobody has found an appropriate way to weave it into any other kind of film. That ends now however with Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, a film that’s so outrageous and ingeniously original that I’m not even sure where to begin.
Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) lives above a struggling launderette business that she runs with her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan). Evelyn has been overloaded with things to think of for a long time and as a result her marriage has lost its spark, her relationship with her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) is strained, and she is caring for her disapproving and demanding father (James Hong).
When she and Waymond are investigated by the IRS about their taxes, Evelyn is contacted by a version of her husband from another universe warning her about an impending doom that only she can prevent. Evelyn must learn how to transport her mind to other universes and learn the skills she knows there to protect her universe from complete destruction…all whilst trying to fix her relationship with her family and file her taxes.
Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) lives above a struggling launderette business that she runs with her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan). Evelyn has been overloaded with things to think of for a long time and as a result her marriage has lost its spark, her relationship with her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) is strained, and she is caring for her disapproving and demanding father (James Hong).
When she and Waymond are investigated by the IRS about their taxes, Evelyn is contacted by a version of her husband from another universe warning her about an impending doom that only she can prevent. Evelyn must learn how to transport her mind to other universes and learn the skills she knows there to protect her universe from complete destruction…all whilst trying to fix her relationship with her family and file her taxes.
Everything, Everywhere, All At Once is an apt title for the film as it is an almost non-stop assault on the senses from the word go. Even within Evelyn’s mundane daily life there is so much she needs to think about at any one time, and this only becomes considerably more complicated once the fate of the multiverse is placed on her shoulders. Everything, Everywhere, All At Once is straight up absurd, and there’s no sugar coating it, if you’re going to watch it be prepared to be exposed to some absolutely crazy things, and all of it is hilarious. Directing team ‘Daniels’ have created such a unique viewing experience that is simultaneously mesmerizingly clever and yet bafflingly stupid. The mechanics behind multiversal travel in the film are complex, and that’s something I can’t decide whether it’s good or not. Even the characters don’t really understand how it works, and the few that do can’t really explain it in words. Therefore, the film never bogs itself down with multiversal mechanics, nor does it allow itself to be constricted by any kind of logic, which allows Daniels to do pretty much anything they could think of. So, the lack of an explanation is good because it allows for the film to be completely unrestricted in creativity, but it also causes the film to be difficult to follow at times because there are no rules. When the entire film is constructed around the idea that anything could happen at any time it can sometimes be difficult to get yourself into that mindset when basically any other film that deals with this kind of subject matter has clearly defined rules as to how things work for audiences to easily latch onto.
The film hops genre from moment to moment, and is so stuffed with references to other films that it can sometimes be difficult to adjust unless you’re prepared to just go with the flow. But at the centre of all of this is an extremely relatable story of mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, and the inescapable human condition of looking back on your past and wondering what you could have done differently.
The whole cast delivers an incredible performance and you can tell they’re all having an absolute blast making it. This is arguably the best performance of Michelle Yeoh’s entire career, seeing her flit between multiple different versions of herself that all have different behavioural traits. She also manages to bring comedy to the film’s gloomiest moments, and emotional weight to its silliest, so no matter how absurd things get there’s always something grounding it. I haven’t seen Ke Hu Quan in a film since The Goonies in 1985, and what’s even more impressive is he brings that same energy he did as Data and as Short Round in Temple of Doom despite being almost forty years older. He’s absolutely hilarious and his perpetual state of confusion is endlessly endearing. Alongside Quan, Stephanie Hsu brings much of the emotional core to the film. I found it really interesting how they handled the relationship between Evelyn and Joy, in that no matter how Evelyn tries to fix things Joy resents her for it. It feels like an extremely realistic portrayal of an overbearing mother and her rebellious daughter constantly at odds with each other.
Jamie Lee Curtis was also hilarious in the film as IRS inspector Deirdre. She was in the film considerably more than I expected and having really only seen her in the Halloween franchise before this it was great to see such a different side to her.
The film hops genre from moment to moment, and is so stuffed with references to other films that it can sometimes be difficult to adjust unless you’re prepared to just go with the flow. But at the centre of all of this is an extremely relatable story of mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, and the inescapable human condition of looking back on your past and wondering what you could have done differently.
The whole cast delivers an incredible performance and you can tell they’re all having an absolute blast making it. This is arguably the best performance of Michelle Yeoh’s entire career, seeing her flit between multiple different versions of herself that all have different behavioural traits. She also manages to bring comedy to the film’s gloomiest moments, and emotional weight to its silliest, so no matter how absurd things get there’s always something grounding it. I haven’t seen Ke Hu Quan in a film since The Goonies in 1985, and what’s even more impressive is he brings that same energy he did as Data and as Short Round in Temple of Doom despite being almost forty years older. He’s absolutely hilarious and his perpetual state of confusion is endlessly endearing. Alongside Quan, Stephanie Hsu brings much of the emotional core to the film. I found it really interesting how they handled the relationship between Evelyn and Joy, in that no matter how Evelyn tries to fix things Joy resents her for it. It feels like an extremely realistic portrayal of an overbearing mother and her rebellious daughter constantly at odds with each other.
Jamie Lee Curtis was also hilarious in the film as IRS inspector Deirdre. She was in the film considerably more than I expected and having really only seen her in the Halloween franchise before this it was great to see such a different side to her.
Daniels presents an insane level of creativity with Everything, Everywhere, All At Once and that is immediately obvious with the films visual style. Starting things off with clever and extensive use of mirrors and reflections at the beginning of the film, and then outright changing the visuals and filmmaking methods each time a new aspect of the multiverse is introduced. This can be as simple as a colour alteration or an aspect ratio change, but it could be as dramatic as moving into animation or only having text on screen. The amount of time and effort that has gone into even the simplest shots is extremely impressive, with the same shot needing to be filmed in multiple locations and then edited together to make it look like passing through the multiverse. Whilst there is CGI present, it’s very apparent that things like what I’ve just mentioned weren’t handled by a computer and the effort has gone into painstakingly replicating the same shot maybe a dozen times in different locations just for a second or two of screen time. I’ve simply never seen anything like it.
Films like Everything, Everywhere, All At Once need to be supported, and nothing shows support for original projects like this than box office numbers. I cannot recommend taking a trip to your local cinema and checking it out enough. It’s hard to say whether the film will be for you or now because it’s so unique, so the only way you can really know for sure is by watching it. In an age where multiplex cinemas are crammed with endless sequels, superhero movies, and reboots to long dead franchises, something as refreshingly original as Everything, Everywhere, All At Once should be celebrated. I can’t remember the last time I went to watch a comedy at a cinema and every single person in the audience was genuinely howling with laughter, and it was such a great experience to share with strangers. I will absolutely be going to see it again, and Everything, Everywhere, All At Once is a very strong contender for my top films of the year list and Michelle Yeoh’s performance is going to be a hard one to top this year for leading actress.
Films like Everything, Everywhere, All At Once need to be supported, and nothing shows support for original projects like this than box office numbers. I cannot recommend taking a trip to your local cinema and checking it out enough. It’s hard to say whether the film will be for you or now because it’s so unique, so the only way you can really know for sure is by watching it. In an age where multiplex cinemas are crammed with endless sequels, superhero movies, and reboots to long dead franchises, something as refreshingly original as Everything, Everywhere, All At Once should be celebrated. I can’t remember the last time I went to watch a comedy at a cinema and every single person in the audience was genuinely howling with laughter, and it was such a great experience to share with strangers. I will absolutely be going to see it again, and Everything, Everywhere, All At Once is a very strong contender for my top films of the year list and Michelle Yeoh’s performance is going to be a hard one to top this year for leading actress.