Everything everywhere all at once

Daniels’ Everything Everywhere All At Once, which premiered at this year’s SXSW, is a wild, genre-bending, bracingly tender metaphysical action movie that defies description.  Even to call it an ‘action movie’ feels reductive and doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of what this film offers.  Side note: if you haven’t seen their previous film, Swiss Army Man, stop what you’re doing (including reading this review!) and go watch it now.

The film’s heroine is Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh), whose life is slowly crumbling before her eyes.  She runs a failing laundromat with her soon-to-be-ex-husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan), refuses to acknowledge her daughter, Joy’s (Stephanie Hsu) sexuality, and must contend with Deirdre, a hard-ass bureaucrat played with mustache-twirling glee by Jamie Lee Curtis. Amidst this backdrop, Evelyn is suddenly approached by Waymond, who claims to be an alternate version of her husband from another universe. Evelyn alone holds the key to saving the multiverse, and must access her parallel lives to do so. And off our story goes. (If that plot description sounds too spoiler-y, trust me—there’s so much more going on that frankly, is almost impossible to spoil, let alone explain.)

The film represents such a leap in scope and ambition from their previous outing, Swiss Army Man, that at first glance, it’s hard to believe the two films hail from the same directors. That earlier film, quaint in comparison, was a gleefully profane two-hander starring Paul Dano as a man who finds himself stranded on an island, and Daniel Radcliffe as the farting corpse who helps him get home. It was, on the surface, an aggressively puerile movie, crammed with gross-out moments and lots (I mean lots) of farting. Underneath that, however, was an abundance of both intellect and heart.  It served as both a deconstruction of modern bromance and the homoerotic undercurrents that most films fail or are unwilling to acknowledge—one prominent exception is Y Tu Mama Tambien. At the same time, it was also a genuinely touching depiction of platonic male friendship. As such, it’s no surprise that there is more, much more to Daniels’ latest film than butt plug fight scenes and everything bagel black holes (this all makes sense when you’ve seen the film—mostly).

On its surface, the film is primarily an action movie, and it succeeds wildly in that regard.  The fight scenes here are impeccably choreographed and shot, so that you’re never confused as to what’s happening, even as the fights become progressively more bonkers (take note, literally every action movie director out there). These are hands down some of the most inventive fight scenes ever shown on screen. Early-era Jackie Chan (see: The Legend of Drunken Master) would be proud. Part of this is because of the film’s ‘verse-jumping’ conceit. Certain characters are able to access their parallel selves in order to acquire skill sets previously unknown to them. A particular highlight is a hallway fight scene in which Evelyn’s antagonist verse-jumps on the fly, dispensing beatdowns in bursts of color and confetti.

It’s an underappreciated fact that a film lives and dies on its editing, and nowhere is that more apparent than this film. As each character verse-jumps, the editing masterfully conveys the character’s journeys back and forth, often in time with the pulse-pounding soundtrack. Certain scenes are composed of innumerable images stitched together seamlessly—I find myself wanting to go back and re-watch this movie to catch more of the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it visual gags. The visuals are also stunning and do a masterful job of making each universe feel visually distinct.  In one particular interlude, the rain-drenched cinematography sharply evokes the noir-ish romances of Wong Kar-Wai, with characters lovingly framed off-center as they silently smolder.

Given the film’s multiverse antics, the cast is asked to do some extremely heavy lifting, and everyone more than delivers. Though each actor might only have one role on the call sheet, in reality everyone is playing multiple characters and multiple versions of themselves. The core trio—Yeoh, Quan, and Hsu—are masterful at this, particularly Quan. (Yes, that is Short Round from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.) He deftly changes his entire persona at the drop of a hat, oscillating between a meek do-gooder and a bad-ass action hero akin to The Terminator’s Kyle Reese, often in the same scene.  He benefits most of all from the sharp writing, and does a tremendous job conveying warmth and affection toward his castmates. Your heart bleeds for him, especially in a third act monologue in which he begs, pleads with Evelyn to walk the path of kindness rather than violence.  At this point, in a lesser film, one would lament the fact that this signals an end to the crackling action scenes. It’s a testament to how invested you become in these characters that you don’t care—you just want to see them happy.

This is a film that expertly builds on the sturdy foundation laid by Swiss Army Man. For those who watched the trailer for this film and were concerned that the directors had lost their edge—never fear. Without spoiling anything further, the directors have most assuredly not lost their taste for the profane and irreverent.  (Your mileage may vary, but I personally found those touches hilarious.) And all the absurdity and sight gags are in service of a deeper, more profound message. Inherent in the characters’ verse-jumping is the incredibly touching and empowering sentiment that each one of us is capable of anything. All it takes is making the right choices at the right time. In addition, this is also a wonderfully moving love story that works on multiple levels—husbands and wives, fathers and daughters, same sex couples, and, most importantly of all, mothers and daughters. The film comes full circle to Evelyn and Joy, and Yeoh and Hsu exude such warmth and tenderness toward each other that there won’t be a dry eye in the house when the credits roll.

Everything Everywhere All At Once is a stunning accomplishment, a film that demands multiple viewings. This is more a work of art than anything else, and belongs just as much at the Museum of Modern Art as it does at your local multiplex. Daniels (really a duo, consisting of Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) is unparalleled in their ability to juggle obscene irreverence, existential quandaries, and powerfully moving melodrama.  I can’t wait to see what they do next. And in the meantime, I’ll absolutely be seeing this film again.