Thoughts on Everything Everywhere All at Once
(Spoilers included. Go watch it first!)
Everything Everywhere All at Once is a frentic sci-fi epic filled with incredible visual spectacle and a score that amplifies beat for beat.
The film features a Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) navigating a failing business and family. Disillusioned by her disappointing life, Evelyn is suddenly thrust into saving the multiverse. She quickly learns to call upon an endless stream of bygone “what if's?”, each an Evelyn existing elsewhere in the massive multiversal web. Overwhelming at points, the chaos is much more than a flashy veneer. It is the story's vehicle expertly driven to explore the existential doubts of an imaginative daydreamer.
In the end, Evelyn finds peace in a beautiful resolution; be kind to yourself and others, cherish the life you have earned. It is a common human experience to think about what could have been. This movie dives into that in an earnest and silly way. You can't help but applaud the commitment.
A24 delivers yet another must-see title. This gem allows Michelle Yeoh to display her range as both kung-fu badass and dramatic leading actress. Also featured is the terrific Ke Huy Quan who leaves you wondering how you've seen so little of him. Stephanie Hsu, Jamie Lee Curtis, and James Hong rounds out the cast with notable performances.
Likes
Very real immigrant parent-child relationship paired with surreal sci-fi adventure. (maybe all it takes to reconcile generational differences is the mother of all acid trips)
Tons of moments that will make you laugh, cry, and everything in between. Dildos, paper cuts, bad taxidermied animals.
Dislikes
The exposition in the first half comes at you (and Evelyn) at an absurd pace. Make sure you're dialed in.
July 03 (EDIT): It was fitting but Claire de Lune seems cliché at this point.
