Everything, Everywhere, All At Once (2022) Review

Occasionally, a film comes out and completely flips the script to create a mixture of genres of storytelling that truly captivates effortlessly from start to finish. That lies at the heart of the directing team The Daniels (Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert) second feature film called Everything, Everywhere, All At Once with the writing/directing all on them but produced through the famous Russo Brothers’ AGBO studio.  Not only is this an ensemble piece, led by the charismatically game actress Michelle Yeoh, but features a lovely mix of familiar faces (James Hong, Jamie Lee Curtis, and returning to acting officially with this film outing while being behind the camera for decades as a stunt coordinator, Ke Huy Quan) and new ones that deliver funny moments or standout as a prominent part of the cast.  This also has a wild mix of sci-fi adventure, generational family drama, and an absurd yet dark comedy that truly goes big with its weighty themes of existence and the purpose of living, with the wonderment of what could have been. Let’s really explore this family and see what kind of journey they go on.

We follow Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh), an overworked and worn-out laundry owner that runs the business with her estranged yet meek husband Waymond Wang (Ke Huy Quan) as they are being audited by the IRS for delinquent payments on their place.  This is happening as their daughter Joy Wang (Stephanie Hsu) is visiting to help her family out with their troubles, along with her girlfriend Becky (Tallie Medel), but her overbearing mother forces her to come back for the Chinese New Year Party, as her grandfather Gong Gong Wang (James Hong) is coming with them to the IRS for their appointment.  They visit the place to see the inspector assigned to their case Deirdre Beaubeirdra (Jamie Lee Curtis) but what seems like a stressful, mundane day becomes a bit crazier than expected as another Waymond jumps into his body to instruct Evelyn of her purpose in a growing dangerous evil that threatens to destroy the entire universe as we know it, on a massive multiverse scale. 

This Waymond is known as Alpha Waymond and provides Evelyn a pair of Earpieces that operate as connectors to the vast network of universes through a smartphone, which only confuses her even more as he suddenly disappears after providing a set of instructions on how to activate the devices. It seems you must do something completely dumb, nonsensical, or outlandish, as it provides the trigger needed to activate the devices and connect a user to Verse-Jump into another universe and their requested abilities. As she does this, it jumps her to Alpha Waymond in another world, who informs her of a malicious and brutal omnipresent person known as Jobu Tupaki with the deduced intention to destroy the multiverse as we know it.  Now, with the fate of the universe in the balance, Waymond pushes Evelyn figuratively and literally to discover her true potential to master control of her different selves to be strong enough to take on Tupaki, fix the growing pains with her family, and ultimately, get her taxes done right for once.

So, it is quite hard to truly encapsulate in words just how wacky, absurd, messy, and inventively entertaining this adventure is and it shouldn’t be a surprise with the filmmakers’ previous film Swiss Army Man.  Which is why this film is truly one of a kind, and the story is both grand in its wild invention and imagination, yet still tells a relatable, personal family tale that is universal despite how much of it draws upon Chinese/Asian culture.  The personal focus on this family drama and the mundane struggles of taxes/marriage/parenting remains the driving force of the narrative, amplified to inventively creative heights with the sheer zany spins on the multiverse concept. The variety of worlds range from one where she is a martial arts master, sign holder, chef, and even one with hot dogs for hands and hands for feet! The Daniels really push the concept far and wide, both on a comedic and emotional level that all feeds into the overall themes of the film that are weighty, philosophical, and personal in surprising ways.  It starts with the Wang family themselves.

What lies at the core of the story is the strained relationships Evelyn has with both Waymond and Joy specifically. Starting with the tested marriage that Waymond has a conflicted desire of ending before getting taken over by a well-trained dimensional commando that becomes the hidden heart of the story, as well as the stern mentor for Evelyn to finally become the hero that can stabilize and save the multiverse. Joy ultimately becomes the core conflict of the tale in an ironic yet personal way, as another but just as effectively told tale of a daughter that feels nothing but shame and frustration with her mother’s expectations and approval.  As for Evelyn, we discover that the worst version of her, ends up being crucial to discovering the true purpose of existence for humanity regarding the nihilistic nature of our purpose but also the ability to choose to give that purpose meaning through how we live and act in our lifetime.  This is a tricky area to explore, due in part to keeping the story critique as spoiler free as possible. The best way to put it, it truly takes this familiar but powerfully handled family drama and structures it expertly around a wacky concept of parallel worlds, what could have been in life, and the subtle blend of drama with dark yet goofy humor that comes with knowing our lives could have been one way or another.

That’s the absolute genius behind this film’s narrative, that it can somehow transition between comedy and drama so effortlessly, without feeling too jarring or disingenuous about its execution.  It becomes this absolute insane roller coaster ride of emotional highs and lows amplified from the directing team’s previous effort.  Even the supporting characters provide some much-needed levity, especially Beaubeirdra and the side characters that pop up for an unexpected gag/joke reference specifically for a particular Pixar film. The film doesn’t shy away from exploring the elements of generational struggles and pain that influences the actions of another, expressed in the multitudes of different paths we could have taken and how those change on the surface, but never changes who we truly are throughout the universe.  The family dynamics work exceptionally well, and their arcs/end point becomes a deeply powerful, profound core of what makes this film’s narrative shine through as the new expectation for any future attempts to create multiverse stories. It will certainly be one that makes you laugh, cry, and truly reflect on making that existence count, in the face of pure nihilism and lawless chaos.

Let’s get into the cast of the film finally, starting with the family themselves and the respective roles they serve in this crazy adventure. Starting with Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang, as the worst version of her being in debt, on the verge of a broken marriage, and a strain relationship with her daughter that is ready to cut out and leave them behind.  Michelle Yeoh has been coming back in the spotlight with more prominent roles than before, over here in the States (despite being an international action icon throughout the 80’s and 90’s). This is the film where she truly challenges herself as a dramatic actress and truly carry this whole film with one of her finest performances yet, managing to switch between dramatic and comedic exceptionally well.  It is very reassuring to see Yeoh basically lead the entire ensemble and truly provide an excellent performance that also elevates the rest of the cast extremely well.

The next performance that is worth exploring, is Key Hu Quan as Waymond Wang, her mousy, dolt of a husband that has become infuriated with their marriage being loveless, neglected, and akin to partnership than an actual marriage. He becomes the hidden, surprisingly emotional core as Alpha Waymond jumps into Waymond of the worst universe to help Evelyn connect and unite her different selves to be strong enough to take on the big baddie, Tupaki.  This is Quan’s return to films officially (despite making a few appearances in small roles, he is most notable as a kid actor that played Short Round in The Temple Of Doom and Data in The Goonies), as he was mainly a stunt coordinator and worked behind the scenes for most of his career. But the recent surge of Asian driven films provided the motivation to take on a role that required him to be both physically and emotionally adept at conveying multiple forms of this character. Surprisingly, he matches with Yeoh perfectly in humor and drama, regarding how his different selves interact with each Evelyn.  He helps to set the tone for how well choreographed and entertaining the fight scenes are in this one as well, along with exceptionally displaying charming chemistry and dramatic urgency with his interactions with Yeoh.

Which leads to the most compelling and complex character of the cast, being Joy Wang played by Stephanie Hsu, the estranged daughter that loves women, with a steady girlfriend in Becky even though her mother is ashamed of their relationship and unwittingly belittles her looks as well as her station in life. She ultimately becomes the central conflict of the film’s adventure and her dynamic with Yeoh is truly engaging, heartbreaking, and in a way tragically truthful about how people feel regarding existence in general. It is that counterpoint that provides the conflict weight and stakes that feels personal yet real to the characters and their arcs in general.  It is also clear Hsu is having a blast playing so many variations of herself that have completely been mentally snapped by the abuse done to her in one world, that combines all of her into a singular being created from generational pain, to wreak havoc on the multiverse, while searching for her mother to help her feel what she truly sees, in an everything bagel of nothingness. It is interesting to note that Hsu was a replacement for Awkwafina, who dropped out of this role for Hsu to take over and it is great to see an upcoming and clearly promising actress truly standout in this film as a supporting yet central role in this adventure. 

This leads to the supporting roles that stood out, for both the reliable great efforts and surprising depth brought to these characters as well.  To start comedically, with Jamie Lee Curtis as the irritable yet naively forgiving IRS Inspector Deirdre Beaubeirdra. Of course, she is visually very much older and has let herself go clearly, both comedically and surprisingly for a character related reason that makes her mini arc work exceptionally well with the climax of the film.  You can also see throughout that she is putting in the work physically too, as one of the Verse-Jumped Soldiers for Tupaki with some of the fight scenes she has with Evelyn and Waymond.  Even in another world with hot dogs for hands and human hands for feets, she displays her ability to be game for the outlandish humor and unsuspecting heartfelt end point of that comedic gag.  Curtis truly makes her presences felt comedically and dramatically, throughout the film.

The last major supporting character to discuss is Evelyn’s Father Gong Gong Wang, played by legendary actor James Hong, the elderly yet unassuming father of Evelyn that was taken in by her, after her mother passed away.  The character is played up as both a dotting, disappointed father to a hardened war general that will go to extremes to stop Tupaki at all costs.  There are some truly heartfelt moments with him and Yeoh that adds dramatic weight to the conflict perfectly, as well as an escalation that continues to push the boundaries of the concept of the multiverse.  Another character actor that treads the lines of comedic and drama perfectly for the film, as well as showcasing the hidden pains and regrets that come from elderly parents’ actions to raising a child.  He becomes the ignorant parent that is stuck in his ways and learns through his daughter’s actions how much he contributed to the mess they all found themselves in.  That should cover most of the cast members, as everyone else gets a chance to shine comedically as well as in the action set pieces in this film.

Let’s finally bring this home with an exploration of the technical aspects for this film, made on a modest budget of $28 million dollars and so much of that quality is seen in the way it was shot, edited, choregraphed, and with a compelling original score/theme song by Son Lux.  This was shot by Larkin Seiple, who has worked with The Daniels before on Swiss Army Man and truly displays that creative synergy with the many ways they showcase the different worlds in this film.  The formatting of the shots completely changes with each world for different aspect ratios that it is either parodying or reflecting the universe’s atmosphere, along with the vibrant use of colors and lighting, despite the limitations imposed by the distance and scheduling of the production throughout the making of it.  The film truly encapsulates so many differing styles of filmmaking that truly makes each world distinctive and inventively fun to be in, as evident with the next part.

What better way to transition further into the technical aspects of the film, then with the focus on Art Direction/VFX Designs for the film.  The art direction combines quite a bit of Asian aesthetics into the film, be it Wu-Xia, Wong Kar Wai, and the obvious uses of the office complex similar to films like The Matrix.  Then the more absurd and outlandish elements are usually exaggerated for the joke/gag or the focus for the scene, especially as we get one scene that is driven by written text and another with visible grit to the world we jump into throughout the film.  For a film on a modest budget, it truly is astounding how inventive and seamlessly handled the VFX is for the more outlandish elements of the film, that truly should be commended as present in the way it blends with the actors and shot compositions throughout the film.  The pandemic must be mentioned to the no doubt challenging yet creative ways the cast and crew were able to get their work done, being separated by miles and countries throughout the production as well, making the use of VFX truly sublime here. These elements also make another aspect of the film standout considerably from the creative use of the budget in making the settings pop out and VFXs handled with expert efficiency.

Those elements make the action set pieces in the film standout considerably, with massive help from seriously talented action experienced actors and stunt team at work. There is a wonderful blend of slapstick and absurdity to the action itself, with most of the invention coming from how ridiculous they get, be it cleverly crude or truly going headfirst with the goofiness of it all.  Especially with one set pieces that that has a blast piling on the crude, absurd humor that is rare to see in films, committing to sheer insanity to logic and reason.  The fights get more personal as well, making for some truly wild transitions that occur as they blend each of the universe together or different filmmaking styles to the story.  The choreography for the fights in this film is up to par, with today’s stiff competition especially with the use of wide shots and deliberately paced cuts to feel the weight of each movement as it happens.  Having seen stuff like the scene breakdown, truly showcases how imaginative, challenging, yet brimming with sheer fun to create such exciting thrills and entertaining action through inventive means.

The editing is just as exceptional as the rest of the film, with only a few nitpicks mainly for how the film wraps up at the end (no spoilers, just the creative choices made for it).  The blend of action and drama is handled with a very deft, balancing touch to it that manages the many tonal shifts that could have otherwise wrecked the entire film.  For much of the film, it is handled exceptionally well and allows for both the dramatic/comedic elements to blend with each other smoothly.  Where it does get a bit overlong is the final scenes of the film, where it does overwhelm and feel like it plays on a bit too long with its end point.  However, it is forgivable for how it sticks to the landing, and it is refreshing to see a film convey a traditional ending that really wraps all the storylines up neatly, which is a miracle regarding how many subplots and gags they had to juggle with in the story.  Despite that minor gripe, the film flows and plays well at its runtime, to truly keep everything contained into one film was no doubt long and arduous work to get it to what we got as a result.

Lastly, let’s get into the sound design and original score from Son Lux (with another artist named Mitski for the theme song) that truly adds to the odd yet trippy atmosphere of the film.  The film does get playful with the way sound is handled, which enhances the goofy, slapstick nature of the film’s humor and the limitless bounds of the multiverse.  It was surprising to hear cartoon effects from time to time and allowing for the use of dissonance that really makes the joke and outlandish elements hit harder. Which leads us to the original score by a band named Son Lux, relying on a unique blend of ambient and energetic synth music to drive the action and emotional push of the story.  Their style of music is very much a part of this film’s style as well, and succinctly matches the film beautifully in surprising ways as well as two theme songs that become the musical identity of the film with “This Is A Life” (featuring Mitski & David Byrne) and “Fence” (With Mose Sumney).  The only knock that could be given for the score is how much it is tied to the film itself and that outside of some truly memorable motifs that stick with you, it doesn’t lend itself too much to outside listening from the lack of consistent melodies to latch onto most of the score.  Otherwise, it not only does the job well in providing another layer of energy to the story, but it truly matches the insanity of the film as well, in surprisingly inventive ways that make it work with the visuals.

This Is A Life (Son Lux Ft. Mitski & David Byrne) <--- (Link To Music Track)

It has been 2 years now since coming back to theaters and with more people filling the seats once again, expectations for something that truly entertains and is creative will hopefully be the main drive for future films to come. In this case, Everything, Everywhere, All At Once delivers on so many levels of creativity in many aspects of filmmaking that its solid foundation for a simple yet effective family drama truly grounds what is literally a dimensional jumping adventure that can be emotionally engaging, exciting to watch, a completely messy flip flopping of logic and rules going out the window, and just clear reckless abandonment of traditional storytelling. However, at its core, the focus of the film remains the relatable yet incredible journeys of the Wang Family, especially between the family members conflicting motivations and arcs, driven by the generational pains they have endured and inflicted onto one another that truly makes us care for their changes in the story and completely enthralls many people when it sticks the landing and makes their overall narrative end on an uplifting complete note.  This is important to note as the film totes the line of existentialism and the chaotic nihilism that drives many of the characters here, but always keeps it on the characters actions driving the story and it is one hell of a ride as a result.

Score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Out Of  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Daniels’ second feature film outing is a triumphantly impressive sophomore outing and proving once again how talented and inventive this creative duo is in crafting personal stories with genuinely thought-out emotional arcs to go with an overall narrative that is wild, trippy, and makes no sense on the surface, but truly ties into what the filmmakers are conveying.  The cast in general are truly phenomenal in and out, with Yeoh providing her career best in this one along with Quan being the surprising heart of the story and Hsu truly proving how versatile she is in being a supporting character and integral central role to the conflict of this film’s narrative.  You also get some truly solid and imaginatively goofy, yet fun action set pieces to go with how inventively wacky the worlds get in this one and how the film truly embraces the chaos of the whole concept, but it never truly forgets the story it wants to convey.  The reason it scored this high is that this is one film that truly and proudly wears its heart for the world to see through this insanely satisfying adventure film and for a film to inspire so many repeat viewings and see how buzzed and excited the audience became after the film wrapped up, it’s nice to get a film that can be so many things, commit to its title literally, and convey it expertly to make this one of the finest films of 2022.