Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang. Photo courtesy of imdb.
Over the weekend, I went to Eugene, Oregon’s very own Art House over on 13th and Ferry to watch “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Without having yet seen a trailer for the movie, I was going in completely blind to Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s 2022 film. Little did I know that I would be in for a sweet, exhilarating, fun, and completely confusing ride for a film that I would now consider a much watch for all movie lovers.
Our main character, Evelyn Wang, is played by Michelle Yeoh, who also won the Golden Globe award for “Best Actress in a Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy” earlier this year. Ke Huy Quan plays Waymond Wang, who, depending on which universe in the film you’re in, is Evelyn’s wife, ex-lover, widower, life-saver, and a whole assortment of other roles. Evelyn and Waymond’s daughter, Joy, is played by Stephanie Hsu. Joy plays an important role in the film, however, I don’t want to give away what it is. Easily, I can tell you that all three of these actors gave phenomenal performances.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” is a family drama, while also being a comedy, romance, martial arts, action and adventure, and sci-fi and fantasy film. Seriously, this film has it all. The plot has Evelyn struggling to keep her laundromat business afloat while also deciding on whether or not to divorce her husband, Waymond. Their daughter Joy is struggling to get her mother to accept her since she is so different from her parents ‚ she’s also gay which causes some issues within the family.
While at a meeting with the IRS, an alternate universe version of Waymond appears before Evelyn, which, of course, surprises Evelyn. Before long he has started her on what’s to be one of the wackiest adventures a person could go on. Evelyn is tasked with stopping a multidimensional evil who is attempting to end the world; every world. Will she succeed in saving the universes or will she fail her quest and bring everyone she’s ever known and loved, in every universe ever, to a grim demise?
The film starts off on a 30-second long shot that’s slowly zooming in, centered on a small round mirror. Surrounding the mirror is just a typical living room, with almost eerie red and blue lights illuminating the room. The mirror shows a reflection of Waymond, Joy and Evelyn as they appear to be enjoying themselves. At about 25 seconds into this shot the music begins drawing attention to itself as the zooming in, the lighting in the room, and the reflection on the mirror suddenly change. Now the lighting is more “normal.” The mirror now shows an empty wall and just a little bit of what might be a dresser. Something bumps the table the mirror is sitting on which causes the mirror to tilt down. Now we see a messy dining table with no one sitting at it. The zooming in continues as the shot gradually transitions to moving fully into the dining area, just as Evelyn enters the room and sits down.
This opening shot is an excellent introduction to the start of the film. Right away we’re given examples of the amazing cinematography and editing, the incredible sound design, and the inspired use of just plain weirdness that will be a recurring theme throughout.
A quote that really got me thinking was: “You’re capable of anything because you’re so bad at everything.” A version of Waymond says this at some point to Evelyn. The way I interpret this is that nobody is perfect, but that doesn’t make you flawed. This is a theme that emerges throughout the film and, at least for me, in life.
Here is another example of a film I would give a crisp 5/5 Ninja Turtles. Was I utterly lost and confused for most of the film? Yeah, sorta. Was it still fun and engaging, causing the entire theater to laugh loudly multiple times, while also remaining visually beautiful, audibly stunning, and giving the audience much to think about in the way of what matters in life and what doesn’t? Yes, it was also that. I’d also like to take a moment to acknowledge how well I think this film switches between English and Cantonese.
If you live in town, I would highly encourage you to take a group of friends and go see this film at the Art House located at 492 E 13th Ave in Eugene, while enjoying a delicious cider — for those who are of age — served in a jar with some freshly popped popcorn.
