The multiverse concept, which is currently trending, reappears in the fantasy sci-fi film Everything Everywhere All at Once with a very classy way, style, and vision. Fronted by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, otherwise known as The Daniels, who we know directed the absurd drama film Swiss Army Man (2016). The filmmaker duo dug up the script in 2010, long before the multiverse concept became popular in the film medium. The film stars Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, James Hong, and Jamie Lee Curtis. How brilliant is this USD 25 million film?
Evelyn Wang (Yeoh) is a laundry businessman who she manages with her husband, Waymond (Huy Quan). At one point, all the problems came together. His laundry business is audited by the tax office (IRS); the husband wants to divorce her; the strict father, Gong-Gong (Hong), just arrived from his hometown; then her daughter, Joy (Stephanie Hsu), needs her mother’s confession to her girlfriend, Becky. In a chaotic situation, Evelyn is suddenly visited by another version of Waymond, who claims to be from a different universe (timeline). He needs help from Evelyn if the entire universe is on the verge of being destroyed by an evil figure named Jobu Tupaki. Evelyn also dismissed all this silliness, not until she saw a version of herself in a different universe.
Speechless watched this film in all its beauty and wisdom. With all its forms of absurdity, this film can insert and explore heavy themes, such as existentialism, nihilism, freedom of will, the balance of the universe, to “love” freshly and brilliantly. Amazingly, all of this is served only to convey its simple message. Many films present these themes separately in brilliant ways, but no one has been able to tackle all of the pieces all at once in one story. For the first time, the concept of the multiverse is used in a genius manner to become the main foundation of the story. Superhero films that use the idea of the previous multiverse look like children’s films.
Not only is the concept of the story brilliant, but so is the aesthetic approach. Apart from its outstanding casting performance, editing is the most dominant technique to support the story. Fast editing, rhythmic editing, and crosscutting became the prevalent technique to present its multiverse ideas. It cannot be apparent to viewers who are not familiar with this concept because of the images (scenes) that almost change quickly (or insert) throughout the film. The filmmaker duo, The Daniels, with their style, knows very well how to package the scene from moment to moment. Humor is often used not only to trigger laughter but also meaning. “Now. I’m trying to fight with your (Waymond) way”. Speaking of a ton of its homage, none of them are out of context.
Through a brilliant script, Everything Everywhere All at Once presents a fresh exploration of the multiverse concept through drama, humor, action, imagination, and aesthetic approach with a depth of theme that no other film has touched. To discuss this film in its entirety is not enough to have one or two paper reviews. This film is a perfect example of how the art of film works so well to support its narrative. There are so many scenes, dialogues, and imaginations new to this medium. This film never tries to be wise but straightforwardly questions the concepts above. In the end, these “nothing matters” cannot be expressed in words, but how do you accept all of this with an open mind. No more questions because you no longer need answers. If your life is the worst version of you, you are the best to understand how the universe works.
If this film is not highly appreciated at a prestigious film festival, I don’t know what else to say. Everything Everywhere is one of the best films ever since the film medium existed. Where did the duo of filmmakers get their inspiration for an overly crazy story like this?
Mantap si ulasannya. Dari segi kostum juga kerena parah. Film yang bener bener perlu diapresiasi, dan bener si film Dr Strange yang ngangkat tema multiuniverse bener bener gak ada apa apanya dibanding film ini. So I’m totally agree when you said “Superhero kaya bocah dibanding film ini”
Jokesnya parah kena banget. But orang yang emang gak biasa sama multi universe akan bilang “film GJ” tpi kalo bener bener paham esesnsi film ini bakal bilang “It’s F*cking genius”
Pada tahun yang sama dengan rilisnya Dr. Strange 2, dan di tengah maraknya tema-tema multiverse dari film-film pahlawan super, film ini muncul dengan keistimewaannya, bukan…?