Introduction
Who would have thought a martial arts film would make into a list of weird movies? I sure didn’t.
You know, I’m old school. I grew up in the 80s, watching all sorts of original Hong Kong Kung Fu movies (Master Of The Flying Guillotine, anyone?). And if there was one thing in my life I would have never gambled on is that a surrealist Kung Fu movie could ever be made.
But here we are.
Review
Everything Everywhere All at Once stars Michelle Yeow in the role of Evelyn Quan Wang, a Chinese immigrant and laundromat owner living in the US. Evelyn is married to Waymond (Ke Huy Quan), also a Chinese immigrant with whom Evelyn eloped to the US, to the chagrin of her strict father Gong Gong (James Hong). Evelyn and Waymond have a daughter together, Joy (Stephanie Hsu), who does not seem to get along with her cold, distant and overcritical mother.
One day, while Evelyn and Waymond are on the way to a meeting with an IRS auditor (Jamie Lee Curtis), Waymond’s body is taken over by a version of himself from another universe, who explains to Evelyn that every life choice leads to a new universe branch within a grander multiverse. Evelyn is soon pulled into the centre of a multiverse conflict against Jobu Tupaki, a powerful being who has seen every iteration of herself and now seeks to destroy the multiverse through a black hole-like creation known as the “everything bagel”. Evelyn must learn to control the alternate versions of herself in order to have a fighting chance against Jobu and save her reality from destruction.
Everything Everywhere All at Once is greatly inventive. It draws aspects of surrealism, comedy, drama, action, thriller and science fiction genres and blends them into a cohesive and unique plot.
With this assortment of genres, it is no surprise that the movie is full of bizarre moments. But don’t expect a Lynchian- or Jodorowskyian-type of weirdness; the movie isn’t teeming with overly abstract or symbolic elements (save the everything bagel perhaps), seemingly random scenes, atmospheric settings or truly odd or disturbing behaviour by the protagonists. The weirdness stems from the topics of parallel universes and alternate realities, which tend to add a certain mystery and confusion to the story.
Also, despite being anchored in actual scientific theories, the movie employs absurdist ideas that deviate quite a lot from mainstream science. Some of these ideas are witty, such as using a kind of black hole in the shape of a bagel. Others are plain silly: performing a statistically unlikely action that no version of you would do, increases the chances you verse-jump, that is, getting powers from a version of you in another universe. But, really, isn’t there any better random behaviour than sticking an phallic-shaped award up your butt (see figure above)?
Of course, that is not to say that the film is an easy watch; there will be moments when you will question what the heck is going on. Fortunately, there is plenty of contextual dialogue that bring most of these moments into place. In fact, explanations are delivered at a gradual and adequate pace and very early on into the movie, so you won’t feel lost for long.
The film introduces novel and witty ideas. For example, one can use a earpiece device to link our consciousness to alternate versions of ourselves, borrowing their memories, skills and emotions. I also loved how they related an Everything Bagel to a kind of black hole that included literally everything – every person, every dog breed, every barbie, every emotion, everything.
And what about the visuals? I by no means consider myself a fashion expert, but those Jobu Tupaki outfits were absolutely amazing (see figure above). The sheer variety of costumes, their vivid colours, designs, and ornaments, really brought life and eccentricity to a character who embodies chaos, multiplicity, and self-awareness. In a way, the diversity in her wardrobe reflects her omnipresence across the multiverse.
Particularly interesting was also the inclusion of rapid visual transitions in exactly those scenes supposed to bring about the chaotic vibe of the multiverse (e.g., when Evelyn is about to verse-jump, or just before she becomes aware of all her alternate selves; see video above).
Comedy-wise I thought some jokes were really clever and funny. I mean, seriously, who didn’t have a laugh when the two rocks started talking and mute-laughing (see figure on the top right above)? That was hilarious!
Other scenes felt a bit over-the-top. For example, the “Raccaccoonie” scene (see figure on the top left above) was pretty off and bordered the ridiculous in my opinion – unless I missed something, I don’t understand why Evelyn needed to control the cook in order to chase up the police car (or why the cook needed to control Evelyn later, which was even more absurd). I don’t know, it just seemed too silly to place when the film was coming to serious and poignant conclusion.
The fighting sequences were nicely done and original, if not silly at times – some were definitely not meant to be taken seriously. For example, the fanny-pack fight (see bottom figure above) was more fun than it was thrilling, but, overall, I found the fights very well-choreographed and exciting. The directors hired a group of YouTubers called the MartialClub to help them choreograph the Kung Fu fighting scenes, which was a splendid idea. MartialClub used a refreshingly modern approach while staying rooted in the style of classic Hong Kong Kung Fu cinema (check out the amazing videos MartialClub produces, really entertaining stuff!).
Everything Everywhere All at Once also touches on current societal themes. My wife watched the movie with me, and she mentioned that Evelyn is a typical “Tiger Mum”, an expression I had never heard of. Apparently, it’s a term often linked to Chinese mothers who are super critical of their children, and emphasise traditional values, discipline, obedience and achievement over emotional support. We can definitely associate this parenting style to Evelyn, for example, Evelyn disapproving her daughter’s interracial and queer relationship, or her demeaning and offhand attitude regarding Joy’s physical appearance (e.g., “You are getting fat”). Evelyn does care about Joy, but she seems incapable of expressing her feelings without criticism, which is a common behaviour in conservative and traditional households.
The movie can also be interpreted as a commentary on immigration. Being a first-order immigrant myself since many years now, I could partly relate to Evelyn’s struggles. Leaving behind a familiar homeland, Evelyn needed to adapt to a new lifestyle, new customs, to people’s attitudes, to a new language, to different bureaucracy… All that, while juggling a crumbling marriage, a depressed child and a failing business in a foreign land.
But where the film truly shined was in how well the writers managed to bring all these various aspects together through Evelyn’s “transformation”. The marital problems, the dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship, the multiverse variations, the everything bagel, the googly eyes – they all converge to a simple realisation: Even if nothing matters, we can still choose to be kind and show empathy.
And that’s a really powerful message in the movie. Everyone complains about this or that, what we could have been, how others are like, and so on and so forth. But, in the end, we should make the most of our life right here – if we all commit to being more considerate and caring towards one another, our universe will be the greatest one we should hope to live in.
Now, acting was pretty good. I’ve been a fan of Michelle Yeoh ever since I saw her for the first time on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and she never stopped to amaze me. Call it a likable factor, but her sheer presence makes everything much more watchable. Her portrayal of Evelyn as a struggling Chinese immigrant was touching and relatable. And, since we are at it, kudos to every actor and actress in the film who had to play multiple roles – I can only imagine the effort one must need to put in to swap characters like that.
Perhaps my biggest criticism would be that there was too little of too many things. At times, the film appeared to be all over the place, trying to cram as many genres and concepts as it could. While it certainly added to the chaotic nature of the multiverse, I personally would have liked to know the alternate versions of each character a little better. The presentation of Evelyn’s other multiverse iterations felt rushed and superficial. Leaning towards comedy, the focus of the film was understandably on absurdity, so many of the characters are comic (sausage fingers, really?!?) and shallow, rather than insightful and deep. Of course, working with the concept of the multiverse makes it challenging to develop fully fleshed-out characters in just over 2 hours.
Star rating
I really liked the movie, especially because it caught me off-guard. Expecting a typical Americanised Kung-Fu movie, I was instead presented with an unexpectedly funny, interesting, thrilling, poignant and surprisingly philosophical story, with a cast I would never have imagined would take part in a “surrealistic” movie.
If you read the review above, you’ll have noticed just how many genres and themes were incorporated into this film: light-hearted comedy, action-packed Kung Fu fighting, complex multiverse ideas, societal commentary on immigration – there is sufficient material that will appeal to many types of audiences.
Was it one of the best films I have ever watched? Probably not.
Would I have awarded it an Oscar? Probably not.
Does it rank among the greatest bizarre movies I have ever watched? Probably not.
Would I still recommend it? Definitely!
If you can ignore some of the silliness, and don’t jump right in with the attitude that all science needs to make perfect sense, the movie will certainly be a mostly enjoyable, if emotional, watch.
Here at Mindlybiz, Everything Everywhere All at Once gets a star rating of 4.
Bizarrometer
Lauded for being not only one of the most interesting movies of 2022 (it won several Oscars after all) but also one of the weirdest, you should be prepared that Everything Everywhere All at Once might leave your head reeling for a while.
But don’t worry. It isn’t bizarre of the unsettling, cryptic, symbolic and/or disturbing type. The movie has a coherent and linear story, and the major ideas are explained progressively, so you won’t feel there will be a great deal explaining left to do in the end.
Just as with the novel “Dark Matter”, weirdness comes in the usage of topics such as the multiverse and alternate realities, which tend to introduce complexity and confusion into the storyline. But with the background provided in the movie, I believe you’ll have little trouble coming to grips with the main plot.
Having said that, there are a few elements in the story that I’m not sure were there to provide mystery, or were simply plot holes. But even these elements are not a deterrent for finishing the movie with a sense of satisfaction and closure.
Here at mindlybiz, Everything Everywhere All at Once gets a bizarrometer score of 1.5.
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