Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
3.5/4
I was recently looking through the numerous columns I published last year and I noticed that one movie I didn’t fully cover was Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s science-fiction film Everything Everywhere All at Once. So, in honour of its seven Academy Award wins, here’s my review of the awesomely wild and wacky movie.
Let’s start off with the award-wining acting. Holy cow: it is amazing. Michelle Yeoh is stunning as Evelyn Wang, a mother who runs a laundromat and gets swept up in a parallel-universe adventure in which she has to save the multiverse from being destroyed by a parallel evil version of her daughter Joy, played by Oscar-nominated actress Stephane Hsu. In this movie, Yeoh shows that she can do as good of a job in kicking butt as she can in giving a emotional performance and by doing that, she rightfully earns her Oscar win (a historic one, as she is the first Asian actress to win Best Actress).
The other real star of the show is Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom actor Ke Huy Quan, who makes his magnificent return to acting in this movie (really, it’s the most interesting Hollywood comeback performance I’ve ever seen). He’s really good playing Evelyn’s husband Waymond; his acting is the very definition of a supporting performance. He does a great job covering his character’s struggles as well as showing his role in his family throughout the whole movie.
I also really liked Kwan and Scheinert’s screenplay and direction. This is easily one of the best-directed films of last year, from the well-choreographed fight scenes to covering the weirdness of each universe that Evelyn visits. The Daniels do a fantastic job in directing the hell out of this movie, which is why Everything Everywhere is such a big success, at the box office and with awards.
Also, people say that there’s no originality left in Hollywood. Well, this movie blows that theory right out of the water. This is the most original film I’ve seen in a long time. From its original take on the multiverse to its unique handling of powerful themes of motherhood, letting go, generational trauma, human existence, and American-Asian identity, the Daniels’ screenplay oozes originality and is easily one of the best that was produced last year.
Also, the musical score by US experimental group Son Lux is just excellent. It brilliantly conveys the complex themes of the movie and makes the audience laugh and cry at just the right times. Larkin Seiple’s cinematography works extremely well. His choice of camera shots and angles really add a lot to the film.
The wonderful acting, superb direction, and truly original screenplay make Everything Everywhere All at Once an unforgettable movie sensation that’s unlike anything I’ve seen before, which is why it’s one of my favourite movies of last year.