Movie Review: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Everything Everywhere All at Once” took the world by storm, winning multiple awards at the Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, and featured the first ever Asian Best Actress, Michelle Yeoh. Is all the praise and acclaim well-deserved?
The captivating plot centres around Evelyn, a middle-aged, financially-struggling Chinese woman living in America, who leads a hectic life as the owner of a laundry shop along with her husband Waymond. Her life takes a dramatic turn when she discovers that she can travel between different universes using technology from another universe called the Alphaverse. Waymond from the Alphaverse reveals that all universes are under the threat of Jobu Tupaki, a talented “verse-jumper” whose soul becomes fragmented and who, much to Evelyn's surprise, turns out to be her daughter, Joy, from the Alphaverse.
As Evelyn confronts and battles Joy, she finds out that the only way to defeat her is to become like her. In a heartrending turn of events, Evelyn’s soul finally collapses when confronting Joy in her home universe. Joy explains that she has seen everything from other universes and ultimately concludes that nothing matters. As a natural corollary, she creates a ‘bagel’ that destroys everything, including herself. Initially agreeing with Joy's nihilistic perspective, Evelyn becomes destructive and wreaks havoc in all universes. However, she soon hears Waymond’s message of kindness and starts to fight using empathy and creativity, thus saving Joy from entering the ‘bagel’. In a touching moment, Joy wants to leave Evelyn in her home universe, but Evelyn eventually stops her by saying that she would always want to be with her no matter what happens.
Though a bit all over the place, the plot is intriguing, captivating and fast-paced throughout. The characters travel through different universes from scene to scene, with a lot of parallel storylines happening at the same time, matching the name of the movie and keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. Despite everything happening on screen all at once, the messages are clear and concise, such as being kind to others and looking on the bright side of life. The acting is on point from all actors, switching between versions of their characters from scene to scene seamlessly, while perfectly balancing their acting styles between dramatic and comedic. The film’s ingenious martial arts directors make use of seemingly random items to create wacky, visually stunning fight scenes which overload our senses.
Overall, the movie is definitely Oscar-worthy with its unique story and the impressive acting, especially considering the number of characters each actor has to switch through. Although it might be a bit all over the place for many viewers, it comes highly recommended and acclaimed from a critical standpoint. It is a thrilling two-hour cinematic journey.