‘Everything, Everywhere All at Once’ Movie Review: Michelle Yeoh’s Dramatic Martial Arts Excellence
Everything, Everywhere All at Once is highly energetic and fresh filmmaking that simultaneously entertains and compels dramatically. Writer/directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert have a clear vision that successfully comes together into a true delight. Everything, Everywhere All at Once is kooky, but doesn’t sacrifice its heart in the process.
‘Everything, Everywhere All at Once’ takes a dive into the multiverse
Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is a Chinese immigrant who owns a laundromat along with her husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Quan). However, they have difficulty working on their taxes, which IRS agent Deirdre Beaubeirdra (Jamie Lee Curtis), makes abundantly clear. They risk losing everything if they aren’t able to figure out their financial situation.
Everything, Everywhere All at Once introduces the multiverse, as a Waymond from another universe believes that this version of Evelyn is the only chance to save every universe from a single terrifying threat. However, she isn’t facing the danger alone. Evelyn explores other universes and connects with various versions of herself to fight back.
Writer/directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert produce a love story about life
Everything, Everywhere All at Once establishes the status quo within the laundromat. Evelyn is immensely overwhelmed trying to juggle the business, raising Joy, and trying to appease her father. However, she neglects her marriage and her own happiness. This universe-breaking story does more than give Evelyn access to various skills but also provides her with the ability to tap into a greater understanding of herself.
The core of Kwan and Scheinert’s screenplay is about love. It touches on Evelyn’s familial love with both her daughter and her husband, but it brings a much more existential approach. Everything, Everywhere All at Once taps into loneliness and discovering love for life itself, along with all of the good and the bad that comes with it.
The film is split into three chapters, each appropriately called “Everything,” “Everywhere,” and “All at Once.” The multiverse is expansive and limitless possibilities are felt. Kwan and Scheinert ask the audience to ponder our existence and what it all adds up to. It tackles some huge ideas, but it somehow doesn’t swallow the movie up.
‘Everything, Everywhere All at Once’ is a winner on all counts
Everything, Everywhere All at Once fully embraces its silly aesthetic with open arms. Kwan and Scheinert consistently incorporate both physical mirrors and visual cues that replicate them. This plays into the exceptional fight choreography that gives the audience the opportunity to take in exciting action sequences that only continue to become more ridiculous over time.
Yeoh is phenomenal in Everything, Everywhere All at Once. She sells the hell out of this movie as Evelyn, delivering on the film’s humor, drama, and action scenes. Hsu is show-stopping as Joy, bouncing dramatic and comedic energy off of Yeoh to perfection. Meanwhile, Curtis is consistently hilarious as Deirdre, giving the film another edge of wackiness.
Kwan and Scheinert include perhaps a bit too much exposition, as they dig through their high-concept story. However, they fully understand its convoluted nature, even writing into the dialogue that “the less sense it makes, the better.” Everything, Everywhere All at Once is sensational. It’s a riotous good time packed with big laughs, non-stop action, and plenty of heart.
Everything, Everywhere All at Once hits theaters on March 25.
