Everything Everywhere All At Once: Review

Stuck running a local laundromat, Evelyn Wang remains unfulfilled from a life of broken dreams and an impending divorce. Her ordinary life suddenly flips upside down when a world-saving quest through the multiverse presents itself in Everything Everywhere All At Once.

From the quirky minds of the writer/director tandem, The Daniels (Swiss Army Man), it’s no surprise that A24’s latest serves as this year’s marquee critical darling. The duo constructs a vision of equally bold and affectionate ideas, utilizing the multiverse concept as an effective platform for ruminating on life’s inevitable regrets and revelations.

Everything Everywhere constantly throws engaging comedic gags and vibrant action setpieces at viewers, but I commend The Daniels most for never forgetting their integral thematic throughlines. The duo conjures meaningful reflections on generational trauma, familial disconnect, and life’s neverending pressures between all the chaos. Michelle Yeoh and 80’s icon Ke Huy Quan also elicit award-worthy performances from their depictions of Evelyn and her affectionately bumbling husband. It’s a blast to see Yeoh’s charismatic movie star presence entrenched in a three-dimensional character, with the actress exhibiting the type of range most projects don’t offer her.

I have some quibbles with Everything Everywhere. The film’s bombastic energy leads to some inevitable unevenness, as the comedic-centric first half pales to the more character-driven finale. A few misgivings do not erase the ample achievements Everything Everywhere scores across its ambitious runtime. The Daniels have crafted another surreal yet humanistic journey through our fragile condition.