Everything Everywhere All At Once

UK Release Date. 13 May 2022
Certification. 15
Running Time. 2 hours 19 mins
Director. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
Cast. Jamie Lee Curtis, James Hong, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Michelle Yeoh.
Rating. 71%

Review.

Over the past 12 months, critics have almost universally fawned over Everything Everywhere All At Once. Praise and acclaim have been widespread, and in the run-up to the 95th Academy Awards held later today Everything Everywhere All At Once is considered the front-runner for the Best Picture Award and several other prestigious categories.

I will not attempt to explain the plot of Everything Everywhere All At Once in any great detail. In truth, how could I? 

Michelle Yeoh plays Evelyn Wang, a Chinese immigrant who co-owns a coin-operated laundromat with her husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Quan). For Evelyn, a series of failures and missed opportunities have led to discontentment with her life. Could Evelyn have been an opera singer, famous film star or talented hibachi chef in another life, if her life choices were different? This concept leads to the philosophical foundation that every choice made in life is an unwitting act that spawns a new universe within an ever-expanding multiverse. As such, a multiverse without end.

What follows is a mind-bending cosmic journey through this multiverse. Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as The Daniels, the duo would appear to possess an encyclopedic command of modern cinematic tropes, with references from everything as diverse as Ratatouille to In The Mood For Love.

Everything Everywhere All At Once is messy. How could it not be? And despite the frantic hyperactivity, I found elements of the film strangely laborious. 

But central to Everything Everywhere All At Once remains a charm. A strange tenderness reminiscent of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. Whilst Everything Everywhere All At Once is, on the surface, a metaphysical journey through a created multiverse, beneath beats the heart of a domestic melodrama about failed, or failing, relationships. This is a story of a mother and daughter whose relationship is fractured. Joy (Stephanie Hsu) is lost, clearly with self-esteem issues and Evelyn doesn't know how to deal with her daughter's teenage angst and sexuality.  

But Everything Everywhere All At Once is also an existential examination of the untapped potential that lies within each of us. What could we have been if we made different choices in life? Married different people? Explored different passions? Followed different pathways? Yes, we may have been more successful, but would we have been happier? 

Michelle Yeoh is the heart and soul of Everything Everywhere All At Once and delivers a performance of dignity, grace and surprisingly, perfect comedic timing. In the kinetic chaos of Everything Everywhere All At Once only Michelle Yeoh's phenomenal performance connects the audience to the central characters. In a career that has spanned four decades and included Tomorrow Never Dies, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Memoirs Of A Geisha, Sunshine and Crazy Rich Asians, she will surely be rewarded with a Best Actress Award later this evening.

Post-coronavirus pandemic, many observers of the film industry feared that economic pressure would make the industry more conservative and risk-averse. At a time where cinema is dominated by superhero sagas, sequels and revivals, Everything Everywhere All At Once demonstrates dazzling originality. Everything Everywhere All At Once is proof that there are still visionaries out there - filmmakers willing to make films that are original, challenging and downright, strange - and based on the success of Everything Everywhere All At Once, there are still audiences willing to embrace them.

I have to admit that I am annoyed with myself that I did not first view Everything Everywhere All At Once in a cinema. I think the shared reaction from fellow audience members would have increased my enjoyment of the film. 

I suspect Everything Everywhere All At Once is a film that would benefit from a second viewing to connect all the dots. Details that, in truth, did not detract from the overall enjoyment of the ride. I just wish I liked it more first time around.