“Everything Everywhere all at once” was an experience which should not be missed. PHOTO CREDIT: IMDB
Taxes, karate, bagels, googly eyes, hot dog fingers. What do these things have in common?
Absolutely nothing. And nothing is what the film “Everything Everywhere All At Once” is all about. Directed by duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, this story follows Evelyn, played by Michelle Yeoh, an overworked laundromat owner who tries to balance out her unstable life only to stumble into the center of a plot which determines the fate of not only her universe but the entire multiverse.
Joining her is her goofy husband Waymond, played by Ke Huy Quan, and her stubborn father called Gong Gong, played by James Hong. Both help and hinder her on her journey to save her daughter Joy, played by Stephanie Hsu, whose nihilistic ideals transform her into the entity Jobu Tupaki, the combination of all versions of herself throughout the entire multiverse. Now she threatens to destroy all of existence.
Now that brief synopsis is a lot to take in (and trust me it was difficult to get it down on paper) but in the film there is ample amount of time given to fully explain things. This is achieved through the film balancing long scenes of expositions out by splicing in moments of conflicts and action to keep the audience engaged.
The exposition is also delivered in a very natural way, as the audience is learning things simultaneously with Evelyn, so this helps keep things up in the pacing department. However, this leads to a possible flaw with the film, as some information is delivered in a rapid-fire pace and one who’s not too keen with paying attention to a large majority of the dialogue will find themselves getting lost.
Like I said before, it’s a lot to take in. But if you manage to keep on top of everything, you’ll find yourself in for a wild ride full of various twists and turns.
Another thing that should be stated is that all the performances from all of the main actors are terrific in this. Yeoh, Quan, Hsu, and Hong are all amazing with the material they were given here, and they show off how wide each of their acting ranges are.
To start off, there are the base characters that we are introduced to at the beginning of the film in which we get some good moments of conflict and drama between the characters, which can be touching and even relatable to some in certain moments. However, as things progress and various different universes begin to cross over, we get to see different versions of those characters, something which I’ll touch upon in a bit.
But, to keep things brief, there are some points in the film where you won’t believe that these actors are playing the same characters, and it’s great to see the actors not be anchored down into having specific roles and instead have more versatility to them.
The final aspect of this film that I want to touch upon is its themes, which heavily delve into philosophical ideas, specifically surrounding nihilism, existentialism and absurdism. Like I stated before, Evelyn’s daughter Joy has a very nihilistic outlook on existence, as due to her being able to see into every possible reality she starts to believe that existence itself is completely purposeless.
However, the film counters this belief by showing the audience that when there is no meaning to anything that gives us the freedom to be able to do anything and gives us the power to create a purpose for ourselves. This belief is known as existentialism, and it is one that’s given to Waymond, Evelyn’s husband, who inspires her to push forward and help her daughter try and see the error of her ways.
Absurdism is another ideal that’s found within the film, as that belief tells us that life is purposeless but that we shouldn’t fret over that fact and accept that along with finding humor within the absurdities of the world around us and in the tediousness of our lives.
This is mainly translated through the film’s use of humor, possibly my favorite aspect of the film, as we get to see into different universes where members of our cast are kung-fu action stars, rocks with googly-eyes, or even have their fingers be replaced with hot dogs.
Before watching this, I had a keen interest in these ideologies and I am especially glad that the film decided to touch upon them in interesting and fun ways, and hopefully the audience can learn more about the ideologies as well.
Overall, I’d give this movie ten bagels out of ten. I had a blast watching this, and I can’t find any major complaints I had. This may not click for some like it did with me since there is a lot to process, but this is one absurd, insane, fun, heartfelt, and ideologically rich experience which should not be missed. Watch the film and see what you think of it!
