Bagels, hotdogs and dildos, oh my!
This film is as crazy as it is profound as it explores mundane life, takes you on a journey of self discovery and delivers one hell of an impactful message.
Isn’t it easy to find yourself caught up in the frustrations of day to day life. That’s where we meet Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) preparing for her annual tax audit whilst trying to do anything possible to win the approval of her father who is visiting from China. Her marriage to Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) is failing and the relationship with her daughter, Joy (Stephanie Hsu) is tense. Little does she realise though, that her world is about to be turned upside down as she’s dragged through the multiverse. While subjected to the brash Deidre Beaubeirdra (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her absolute scrutiny of her receipts, Evelyn is distracted by a more exciting version of her husband who places the weight of several worlds on her shoulders.
It’s rare for me to find a film with this much buzz actually living up to the hype, but Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert have written and directed something which is nothing short of a masterpiece. It’s thought provoking and authentic yet it’s mix of comedic perfection, martial arts and emotional baggage will have you constantly wondering if you should be laughing or crying. The Daniels do an excellent job with the multiverse and conveying the butterfly effect of one simple decision impacting the rest of your life.
Exploring the multiverse, we see many versions of what Evelyn’s life could have been and it’s the relationship between her and Joy which becomes the film’s main focus. Yes, some versions we see of these characters are fantastically hilarious but there are also ones which have a really emotional impact. The absurdity of a world where everyone has hot dogs for fingers is balanced with a world of complete zen, stillness and silence and even the hot dog people manage to catch you right in the feels. I also can’t write this review without mentioning Racoonatouille. I loved the appearance from Glee’s Harry Shum Jr. here and this whole part of the storyline is exemplary of the film’s absurdity and appeal. The whole cast is incredible. There’s just not enough praise anyone can throw at Michelle Yeoh for her role here and I think this has to be my favourite performance from Jamie Lee Curtis.
Verdict
It has been a long time since a film has had this kind of affect on me and as the credits rolled I felt that I needed to just sit and take it all in for a moment. Choose love not war is quite a hippy, idealist take on the world but Everything Everywhere All At Once persuades you to refocus on the good and let go of the negative and what’s best about it is that you don’t realise how important this is right until the end.
