Film Review: Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Now that's how you tackle the multiverse.

Coming from A24, the studio that gave us masterpieces such as Moonlight, Lady Bird, and Hereditary, and at the same time as a certain Marvel-produced multiverse movie, expectations for Everything Everywhere All at Once were high to say the least. After its release I heard responses ranging from "it is the best movie I have ever seen" to "it didn't make any sense", so basically I went in blind. Although certainly not the best nor most profound movie I have ever seen, I can confirm Everything is certainly the spectacle it promised to be and should be celebrated as a feat in film-making as the best film to explore the multiverse concept to date.

Without spoiling much, the movie essentially follows Evelyn Wang, a Laundromat owner whose mundane life is turned upside down when she is forced to save the multiverse from a growing evil on an adventure that has her exploring all the lives she could have led. The role is extremely demanding of its star, Michelle Yeoh, who I will not be surprised to see turn up at next years Oscars. What she does here is impeccable; she ranges from action movie superhero engaging in epic battle scenes to an aging mother grieving the loss of everything she never had, and this is all while keeping the comedy dialled up to an 11. Both Stephanie Hsu and Ke Huy Quan (of Goonies fame) are excellent in their respective supporting roles as Evelyn's dejected teenage daughter, Joy, and simple yet kind-hearted husband, Waymond. The most important thing with these characters though is that they all have vastly different perspectives on life itself; Waymond is a hopeless optimist, Joy is a complete nihilist, and Evelyn, whose quest to find meaning dabbles in absurdism but ultimately she is made an existentialist by the time the credits roll.

Many of us know what existentialism is. It is the belief that we as humans are free agents who can make all our own choices in the world, whether we consider the consequences or not. Nihilism is a branch of this, but is much more pessimistic - it is the belief that life is entirely meaningless and that because we are all free to do anything we want, nothing we do actually matters. These concepts are explored throughout the film as Evelyn tries desperately to control everyone in her life, particularly her daughter. Evelyn's refuses to allow Joy the freedom to live life as she wants and to make her own choices, trapping her in the inescapable pull of nihilism. Absurdism comes into play as Evelyn moves through different universes that become increasingly inexplicable, as this is the belief that the universe itself is absurd and irrational and that humans, who inherently want to believe everything is rational, come into conflict with the universe when trying to make sense of its true meaning. All of this would be quite confusing, especially for viewers who are unfamiliar with these concepts, and I definitely think the film could have explained these further to prevent viewers from getting lost. However, the exploration of these complex and abstract concepts gives way for the film to include absolutely insane, visually exciting, and incomprehensible plot lines that do not require any explanation at all. This is where the creativity and comedy of the film really shine through, with extravagant costumes and world design that are a treat for literally any viewer.

What I loved most about this film is how it conceptualized the multiverse. Rather than just simply stating the existence of other universes with alternate versions of every person on Earth, it is explained how each universe is created any time we make a choice; it creates a new life path for us to go down which can lead to infinite other possibilities. It truly makes the multiverse feel vast - like any version of any person truly exists out there somewhere. It also invites the viewer to adopt an existential perspective and leaves you thinking about how your life might have changed if you made different choices along the way. The film does seem to lack a truly unique emotional breadth for one whose main characters may or may not have just discovered the meaning, or lack there of, of life. The conclusion is still a nice sentiment (don't get me wrong I cried several times), however I think there is still more to be explored regarding how unravelling the secrets of the universe changes a person. Regardless, there is still a lot of heart in Everything Everywhere All at Once; contained within it is a heartwarming story of freedom, family and, finding happiness in life. This is the emotional centre of the movie - there is potential for a sense of depression, as we long to experience things we cannot, however there is also a sense of peace, as we can find comfort in our universe knowing that in some other life, we have done it all.