Everything Everywhere All at Once Review - Mother and Daughter at the Centre of the Universe

Everything Everywhere All at Once achieves greatness as a film by breaking the mold of how movies are made. It tells the story of a family of Chinese-American immigrants. In the beginning of the film, we are introduced to the strained marriage of Evelyn and Waymond, and their young adult daughter, Joy. Joy has been growing distant, due to tension with her mother, especially after coming out as gay. As they continue with their day-to-day struggles, leading up to a difficult meeting with an I.R.S inspector, there begin to be hints of a more surreal storyline. Notably, Waymond begins to act much more assertively, and abruptly develops the ability to fight. He introduces Evelyn to the concept of the multiverse and enlists her help to defeat Jobu Tupaki: a powerful being on the way to destroying the universe. In her journey to save the universe from this being, she begins to understand her role in her daughter’s distress and vows to be there for her no matter what. Despite being far from a perfect parent, the core of her storyline is how she tries to help her daughter and overcome the pain in their relationship; finally acknowledging their problems. This story has been presented in a uniquely compelling way.

The 2022 film, directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, combines elements of several genres, including action, science fiction, and drama. There are even elements of comedy: themes of nihilism, existentialism, and suicide, are beautifully represented in a film that includes people with sausage fingers and a raccoon that can cook. BBC film critics, Caryn James and Nicholas Barber, support this opinion on the film, describing it as “delightfully bonkers on the surface” with a “deep layer of family feeling and a well-earned emotional pull at the end” (Barber & James, BBC Culture film critics Nicholas Barber and Caryn James pick their highlights of the year, including Top Gun: Maverick, Spielberg's latest and Everything Everywhere All at Once). It is two hours and nineteen minutes of unique twists, family feels, symbolism, and action sequences. Unlike what may be expected from a typical action or science fiction movie, it is not primarily a story about saving the world or the universe. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, for example, is another recent film on the topic of the multiverse. While the film was enjoyed by many, and did of course focus on the emotions of the characters, it was far from groundbreaking, and quite typical for an action movie. Everything Everywhere All at Once, on the other hand, seems to be entirely an allegory for mental health struggles and the bond between mother and daughter. This makes it an extremely compelling story.

The success of Kwan, Scheinert, and everyone else involved in the project has been acknowledged through various awards (winning an Oscar for Best Picture and a long list of other awards) and a box office earning of 140.1 million USD. In an interview with Digital Trends, Kwan shared their intention with the movie: “Let’s explode the movie. But let’s do it really slowly and gently so that people have time to get their feet planted before we take them on this wild roller coaster ride.” (Welch, Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once directors on creating 2022’s most moving sci-fi film) It is clear by watching the film, or even simply looking at its immense success, that this goal has been reached. It is a story that is confusing at points, but all of the seemingly convoluted information is clearly explained over the course of the movie. An impressive feat for a story combining multiple realities.

Works Cited

Barber, Nicholas, and Caryn James. “The 20 best films of 2022.” BBC, 16 December 2022,

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20221215-the-20-best-films-of-2022. Accessed 5

May 2023.

“Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Box Office Mojo,

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt6710474/. Accessed 5 May 2023.

Everything Everywhere All at Once. Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, A24,

2022.

“Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022).” IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6710474/.

Accessed 5 May 2023.

Welch, Alex. “Everything Everywhere All at Once directors discuss their Oscar-winning film.”

Digital Trends, 12 March 2023, https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/everything-

everywhere-all-at-once-directors-interview/. Accessed 5 May 2023.