Everything Everywhere All At Once: An Inventive, Hilarious, And Heartwarming Cinematic Marvel
When an interdimensional rupture unravels reality, an unlikely hero must channel her newfound powers to fight bizarre and bewildering dangers from the multiverse as the fate of the world hangs in the balance.
Few things are as inevitable or cyclical as laundry, taxes, or death. Sometimes, the thought of having to endure any of them is enough to make you feel an overwhelming sense of anxiety. If you’ve ever felt like everything is a bit too much (which who hasn’t been there at least once in the last two years), you’ll find great comfort — and an endless source of laughter and joy — in the Daniels’ second feature, Everything Everywhere All At Once. The film takes a nightmarish tax audit, a family on the brink of crisis, and a universe on the edge of collapse, and puts them all together in a glorious tumble dry cycle full of quirky irreverence, martial arts action, and googly eyes that will doubtlessly spiral its way into the depths of your heart.
You’ll find notes of Back To The Future, The Matrix, It’s A Wonderful Life, In The Mood For Love, and Groundhog Day (amongst others) in Everything Everywhere’s expansive sweet & savory flavor profile. But for all Daniels’ myriad influences, which are thoughtfully blended and carefully arranged, they’ve created a film that’s absolutely its own singular beast. Its cultural focus honors both Chinese kung fu cinema and the careers of its leads (Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan), but it also finds universal appeal through its examinations of failure, generational trauma, and existential dread. On top of that, it also packs a beautifully potent message of weaponized kindness and being what other people need (as opposed to what you may want them to be). True to its name, the film offers a little bit of everything for everyone, and it comes at you from so many directions with such tireless ingenuity that you’ll be thoroughly immersed in the beautifully bizarre unfolding of its narrative.
The multiverse concept itself is nothing new, but Daniels stretch it to exciting new heights and extremes, fully embracing the breadth of its potential. Every choice our characters make creates a decision tree that opens the door to many alternate possibilities, and we get to experience many of them, some more strange than others (like the film’s hilarious hotdog-finger universe). With the help of some cool technology created by the film’s Alphavese (the first universe to discover the multiverse and its potential), our characters are able to tap into the divergent lives and timelines by “verse-jumping,” which allows them to harness the abilities of their alternate selves. The sillier and more idiosyncratic decisions the characters make, the more possibilities they have to tap into, which leads to many hysterical moments of absurdist comedy.
If it sounds like a lot to wrap your head around, it’s because it is, but Daniels find a way to deliver exposition in effortless and digestible ways that don’t feel like giant dumps of information. The way they explain the film’s rules is so slick and graceful that it makes Christopher Nolan’s Tenet seem like an even more convoluted, ham-fisted mess. The film is overflowing with top-notch fight sequences (that feature props like butt plugs and fanny packs) and delightfully ridiculous gags, which include farcical riffs on Pixar’s Ratatouille and Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as a gorgeous and sincere homage to Wong Kar-wai’s In The Mood For Love.
The performances are one of the film’s many noteworthy aspects, and every single one is pitch-perfect. Michelle Yeoh is the backbone of the film, and it affectionately honors her career (via one of its alternate universes), while simultaneously allowing her the opportunities to deliver a career-defining performance. Ke Huy Quan, who many will know as Short Round in The Temple Of Doom or Data in The Goonies, serves as the film’s heart. It honors him by giving him his first substantial role since the mid-80s and allowing him to flex his strengths as both stunt choreographer and an actor. It’s lovely to see him on screen again, and we hope to see his career get a resurgence. Jamie Lee Curtis provides excellent support and is clearly having a blast letting her freak flag fly, but it's relative newcomer Stephanie Hsu who really steals the show. Her role requires a lot of versatility and range, and she totally knocks it out of the park, particularly when she embodies the film’s fashion-forward “villain” Jobu Tupaki.
The direction and cinematography are absolutely stellar. Daniels and cinematographer Larkin Seiple are able to articulate so much information and feeling with the smallest moments and without the aid of dialogue. This is particular strong and effective in the film’s many flashes to alternate reality’s many what-could-have-beens. The editing from Paul Rogers is also incredible; he beautifully arranges sequences and zips this ridiculously fun ride into a seamless package. In short, Everything Everywhere All At Once is an astounding feat that will make you cry, then laugh, then laugh-cry, and then do it all over again. Like the best cinema, it opens your heart, hits the funny bone, and captures your imagination. It’s definitely an experience we will be turning to time and time again.
Recommendation: Everything Everywhere All At Once has something for everyone, and it’s one of the year’s best films. Definitely give this one a watch, and then go and see it again!
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!