EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (2022)
SPOILERS
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Everything Everywhere All at Once stars Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn, a Chinese immigrant thrust into a multiversal conflict along with her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan), father Gong Gong (James Hong), and daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu). Other big-name actors make appearances of varying importance, such as Jamie Lee Curtis and Jenny Slate. Connecting to her other lives, she fights to stop Jobu Tupaki from destroying the multiverse with a powerful black hole. I don't want to say much more than that up front, as 1. I want you to experience this for yourself, and 2. There's so much to talk about that it can't be summed up cohesively. So if you've seen it already or just don't care, everything is spoilers from here on out but I'll try to leave any big moments that don't absolutely need to be discussed untouched.
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It's taken me a while to write this review. Partially because I'd hoped to see it again in theaters, which I'm unsure I'll get the chance to, but also because it's been stewing in my mind this whole time as I really try to comprehend it. The title is extremely fitting of the pure density of this movie when it comes to narrative, action, visuals, and theme. There are countless movies that I could say this reminds me of: The Lego Movie, Turning Red, The Matrix, Scott Pilgrim, Kung Pow!, Sense8, Soul. However, despite having elements of or sharing themes with all of those, it's wholly unique in its execution and the way it approaches its deeper message.
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Speaking of it broadly as a movie, there is so microscopically little that I can criticize. The characters are all deeply engaging and understandable, even when juxtaposed with absolutely ridiculous versions of themselves. The pacing is brisk and unflinching, moving too fast to let any idea grow stale. The action and choreography is fantastic with some standout set pieces and gimmicks, and pairs perfectly with the cinematography that knows exactly what is needed at every moment. As a small touch, I also really like the concept of rainbow showing multiversal power, that kind of "everything at once" effect (it's definitely not because I'm an ex-Homestuck). I think its multiverse mechanic is maybe the best one I've ever seen; I LOVE the concept of finding nearby realities by simulating choices that changed everything to get to that point. Really the only thing that didn't leave a huge impression on me was the score, which was just fine. Otherwise, it's a perfect mix of action, drama, existentialism, and absurdity.
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This is where I'll really go into spoilers, though; even then, it does the movie no service to describe multiverse concepts and fight scenes I enjoyed, as it's better to see for the first time yourself. But when it comes to the themes of the movie, there are major reveals and character roles that can't be ignored. It is soon revealed that the Joy from the Alphaverse (the main universe fighting Jobu Tupaki) is the aforementioned villain, driven to ultimate power pushed by her mom in that timeline. This is directly paralleled by actions and conversations taking place in our universe, in which Evelyn pushes her family to the side and refuses to let Joy express herself with her girlfriend in front of Gong Gong. There is a clear correlation of smaller actions and violence, and how they both drive Joy to the path she chooses. This puts the movie firmly alongside generational trauma contemporaries like Encanto, Turning Red, and to an extent The Lego Movie. However, this film is naturally (and fortunately) much more complex in it's message; it's not something that can really be boiled down to a one-sentence moral of the story.
While the setup and character dynamics clearly put us in that camp, it results in two distinct concepts aimed at two different audiences:
First is that of Evelyn and the older generation. While Turning Red and Lego Movie put you firmly into the child's shoes, this movie holds Evelyn as the center of the trauma, dealing with its consequences from her father's actions while perpetuating the same trauma forward to her daughter. Her journey is about understand her daughter (and, in general, the younger generation)'s mindset, and why it conflicts so strongly with hers. Evelyn's life is shown as jumping from one problem to the next, and expecting those around her to be perfect cogs in the machine. A great importance is placed on monotonous paperwork and keeping up appearances while her family falls apart. This can be expanded further into the very concept of the self-named "Alphaverse", dubbed so by the old people who think that is the right and only way to be and end up creating someone who wants nothing but to destroy it. Through her husband and daughter, Evelyn comes to understand that life isn't about fighting every problem and putting absurd amounts of importance in the status quo. Something doesn't have to be the be-all-end-all; instead, she learns from her husband that kindness and quiet perseverance can sometimes save the day. From her daughter, Evelyn sees how her actions drove her to a place of nihilism, of feeling like she had to be perfect in a game with no prize, as well as how her own father first imposed that on her.
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Second is that of Joy and the younger generation. This is of course where the existentialism comes in, and was definitely the hardest and most relatable part to watch. All versions of Joy are defined by a very current-generation sense of nihilism and hopelessness. Her mom expected her to be perfect and to conform to what worked best for her, and this changed her to want to show her mom that nothing matters. This is not only expressed in her creation of the Everything Bagel made as a void of endless hopeless nothing (and, maybe I'm reading too much into it, suicide), but even in her clothing and fighting style randomly mashing elements together and cartoonishly dismantling the world because nothing matters. For a moment, Joy even convinces her mom of this once she reaches her level of understanding, making her act recklessly and hurt people through her multiversal lives. However, Evelyn is able to teach Joy the broader lessen for that generation. Maybe nothing matters, maybe everything is a random stream of events and our actions are meaningless. Our lives move faster than ever now, only getting minute glimpses of the full scope of people's lives and making our judgements. But maybe every universe matters, and maybe each one has something that we can appreciate and see the beauty in. As an audience, it doesn't matter how brief our time is in those different universes; we care nonetheless and want to see people succeed. In the end, Evelyn starts to patch things up not by fighting, but by uniquely showing kindness in her various multiversal lives. There is no "right way" and it's not that nothing matters; you can only take things one step at a time, spread love, and not become numb to it all.
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To a certain extent, I wonder if this new wave of generational trauma movies will really do anything on a larger scale. At the end of the day, the people watching and appreciating the movies are the children who've experienced it, not the parents who perpetuate it. Lego Movie and Turning Red are seen as goofy kids movies/disliked by dumby old people, and Encanto, being animated, is probably seen that way as well while also being the most milquetoast in its approach. Meanwhile, while this is a more mature movie, it's still extremely loud and frantic and might be too much randomness for older viewers to really give a fair shot. Time will tell how this sub-genre prevails, but I really hope it doesn't become an echo chamber and fall on deaf ears.
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All in all, I couldn't recommend this movie more. I don't know if everyone will enjoy it given its stylistic choices, sense of humor, and willingness to go where it goes, but it's one of the more perfect movies I've seen in a long time. It's got the heart of something like Soul, the action of Matrix, the style of Scott Pilgrim, and so much more. I couldn't be more happy with how it's doing at the box office, and I hope it gets recognition for how great it truly is.