Everything Everywhere All At Once - Movie Review

Critics Score - 8 of 10

General Audience Score - 8 of 10

When it comes to movies that explore anything to do with science, space travel and astrophysics, I’m in. Interstellar, Contact, even Stargate, give them to me now. But the multiverse theories and films portraying them have become more popular of late. While most of the ideas of a multiverse we’ve seen in film are related to Marvel, Spider-Man or any of the standard superhero tropes, to deviate and explore this concept devoid of radioactive spiders or supernatural powers is completely unorthodox. It is also incredibly fascinating. The latest film from A24 tries it’s hand at the alternate realities hypothesis and while it does get a bit out of control at times, to say this film is enrapturing is an understatement. It is wildly entertaining. Although the entertainment factor is high, the multiverse premise plays out like a time travel movie, audiences shouldn’t expect every plot point to be wrapped up with a pretty little bow. But with Everything this film is doing, audiences Everywhere will have so much crazy fun, if they give it a chance All At Once.

SYNOPSIS - This voyage into the alternate universes that could possibly exist begins with our introduction to Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) as she wades through stacks of receipts on her desk. Yeoh is the beating heart of this film and her performance, even in some of the more insane aspects, is simply going to be one of the finest of the year. As Evelyn struggles on how to expense her karaoke machine as a write-off, her loyal, slightly uncharismatic and seemingly feeble-minded husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) rushes in and snatches the receipt from her hand. The Wang family operates a laundromat in the midst of some serious tax problems, as the camera backs up we get our bearings in the small, dark and overstuffed apartment. When Evelyn rushes downstairs to the laundromat, we’re introduced to her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu), as she and her girlfriend Becky (Tallie Medel) brace for impact from introducing Becky to Joy’s family.

As we begin to gather, Evelyn’s relationship with her daughter Joy is strained at the moment, particularly over the topic of her girlfriend and not disrupting Evelyn’s elderly father’s view of his granddaughter. The moments when Evelyn and Joy are knee deep in their relationship quandaries is when their performances rise to the top of an excellent cast, but especially Yeoh. Her performance is the stability, she’s the rock if you will, that allows the film to go where it does. If she wasn’t 100% locked into this role, the whole film would’ve faltered and fallen apart. But after the Wang group goes to visit the peculiar and easily angered IRS agent Deirdre (Jamie Lee Curtis), things quickly go from rational to irrational. As Cypher tells Neo before he first leaves the Matrix, “buckle your seatbelt Dorothy, cause Kansas, is going bye bye.” Without getting too far into spoilers, Evelyn’s husband Waymond grabs her in the IRS elevator, except he’s from another universe and has temporarily transferred into his body to warn Evelyn of a danger spreading across the multiverse. This screenplay works but in a bat shi* crazy kind of way as down the rabbit hole we go, exploring hot dog fingers, hair pulling raccoons and everything bagel black holes. It’s indescribable how wild this film gets, there will be times when you think to yourself, “ok, that’s far enough”. But the directors of the film, the Daniels as they’re called, know no fear as they smash down the barriers of normalcy that all other directors operate in.

On a technical level, this film is very impressive. The cgi effects, like some of the ones used on the bagel are mediocre but are fortunately used sparingly on only a handful of occasions. But much of the costumes, production design, fantastic makeup work on Jamie Lee Curtis and the hairstyles of the primary villain are marvelous to behold. The editing of this film is almost unbelievable, like the final fifteen minutes of Whiplash on cocaine, it’s borderline insanity. There are sequences of Evelyn flashing between universes in rapid succession, as well as some other cuts that are absolutely bonkers in terms of how much editing was needed to produce a couple moments of film. The movie also has an excellent score, it’s edgy violin moaning and creaking at intervals to increase the trippy vibes, but unfortunately it’s easily overlooked in the moment due to the overwhelming visuals. But some will feel, I felt it myself a few times, that just how far off the rails this train goes at times doesn’t work. I completely understand that argument, but the movie does so many things right, and at good to great levels, it’s easy to see why so many critics are head over heels for it. 

SUMMARY - A few audiences will certainly be turned off by how many questions we’re left to ponder long after the credits roll and just in general how nucking futs this movie is. But even those people would have to agree the entertainment value is off the charts. So pack a bagel, go in and sit down, clear your mind and roll with the punches, cause Everything Everywhere All At Once packs some serious heat and has one hell of a haymaker if it hits you just right.