Luke McWilliams gives his review of the 2022 science-fiction film, Everything Everywhere All At Once, starring Michelle Yeoh and Stephanie Hsu.

In the office of a laundromat, down-on-her-luck Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) hurriedly prepares for an important meeting with the IRS. Her father has just joined the family from China, her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) has just served her divorce papers, and her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) has brought over her girlfriend. At the tax office, the heated meeting is interrupted when Evelyn’s consciousness is pulled into an alternate Evelyn, who learns the entire multiverse is at risk!

The concept of a multiverse is currently being fully explored in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe. TV’s Rick and Morty are multiverse travellers, seeing the totality of everyone’s potential and the limits of the universe, leading to an existential crisis and nihilistic mentality; after seeing everything, is there anything left? And if not, what’s the point?

Evelyn is told that, out of the countless versions of herself, she is the one living furthest from her full potential, which is actually good news as she may be ‘the one’ who can go up against a force looking to end the entire multiverse! Whereas Jet Li’s antagonist in The Onedid away with his multiple versions to collect their energies, Evelyn must access their skills by making choices that would have sent her life down that path.

Verdict: Like Swiss Army Man, the movie is life-affirming, masterfully tapping into the emotional totality of the human experience. 4.5 stars.

Viewed at Palace Cinemas.

Luke McWilliams | themovieclub.net

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