Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

Everything, Everywhere, All At Once is an action comedy-drama starring Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu and Ke Huy Quan. Evelyn, a hard working but struggling owner of a laundromat, is living a rather mundane life with her husband and daughter, when she is unexpectedly recruited for a mindboggling undertaking of multiverse jumping that may give her the power to save the world.

The plot was extremely unconventional and quirky. It was definitely a movie that I struggled with comprehending at first. I had to understand that once you let go of what is real and what is not, you can start to appreciate the underlying values of the film. The themes around family acceptance, fighting with love and carving your own path to happiness were relatable. 

I thought that Asian cultural representation throughout was genuine and the intermingling of Mandarin and English was authentic. The costumes and cinematography were also quite eccentric which I think helped lead to unique and crisp fight sequences.

As for casting, you can never go wrong with Michelle Yeoh. She is a star and I am so glad she is getting opportunities to showcase her full range as an actor. I was engaged with her character's arch and evolution from a more reserved person to someone sure of themselves and confident in speaking their truth. She and Ke Huy Quan had great chemistry and worked well off of one another. I hadn’t seen Ke Huy Quan in a movie since The Goonies, and after hearing about his 20 year beak from acting, because of his desire to see more quality roles came out for Asians, I was impressed that he didn’t miss a beat. He brought a naivety and a kindness to his role. He also did his own stunts, which was one of the highlights of this film for me.

Everything, Everywhere, All At Once is a wild ride with its new take on the idea of the multiverse and though not necessarily my style, I did think it was bold and unabashed in its delivery.