“Everything Everywhere All at Once” Review
Michelle Yeah gives a career defining performance as Evelyn Wang in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” In the film, Evelyn must use elements of her different lives across the multiverse to fight evil.
With “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” captivating audiences, another film dabbling in other universes and alternate realities has been becoming popular in the local cinema. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is a masterfully crafted film that is a complete jumbling of action, science fiction, romance, drama, comedy with a dash of absurdism for good measure.
In the film, Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is an unfulfilled owner of a laundromat and is currently being audited by an inspector at the IRS (Jamie Lee Curtis). However, everything changes when her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) becomes possessed by the consciousness of another Waymond from another universe. This “Alpha-Waymond” informs Evelyn that her universe is one of many and that there’s an entity trying to destroy all of them. Using the different skills from different versions of herself, Evelyn must do everything she can to save her universe while also preventing her life from falling apart.
Written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (collectively known as Daniels), the pair of them have crafted something truly wonderful. This story is unbelievably complex and I can’t imagine the process of writing this screenplay. After one screening, I wasn’t sure if I got a firm grasp of the story but it was so emotionally resonant.
The film may have a massive amount of action sequences and interesting ideas but it's really about Evelyn trying to come to terms with her life and mend her relationships with her husband, father (James Hong) and daughter (Stephanie Hsu). A film’s story can be as complex as it wants as long as there’s a strong emotional core behind it.
(From Left) Stephanie Hsu, Michelle Yeah and Ke Huy Quan create this amazing dysfunctional family unit trying to stay functional in the face of a multiversal threat.
Michelle Yeoh has been a long-time star of Hollywood with outstanding performances in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” but she really shines here. Yes she shows off her incredible prowess at action but she’s also emotionally vulnerable and they both meld together perfectly.
Ke Huy Quan is infectiously delightful in this film and I am so glad he’s returned to acting after a long period of absence. Most audiences will recognize him for his childhood performances in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “The Goonies,” but he’s really grown up. His acting and fighting are marvelous and I hope this return to acting is the beginning of a resurgence.
The action of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is superb with the perfect balance of great stunt work and a sense of absurdity. There’s an energy to these fights and each fight both propels the story forward and is very entertaining.
What this film has to say is also very powerful and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. The film addresses familial relationships, nihilism and the concept of a multiverse where there are alternate realities where different versions of ourselves exist. Seeing these different universes results in some bizarre humor that is unrepeatable from any filmmaker.
As an A24 film, I knew that this film would be something I had never seen before. However, I was completely blown away by what this film had to say and how much it delighted me. What Daniels has achieved with “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is true originality. After seeing “Swiss Army Man” and now their second film, I am just truly fascinated with how these people see the world.
