Everything Everywhere All At Once is a sci-fi/adventure film that follows Evelyn Wang, a Chinese American immigrant as she attempts to keep her laundromat from being shut down by the IRS. As she tries to sort out the paperwork for her meeting with the IRS, her husband seemingly shifts personalities and warns her that she is the only one who can save the world by connecting with other universes. This leads her on a mind-bending adventure that makes her realize the beauty of her once mundane life.
This film is one of the most, if not the most, chaotic, absurd, and ridiculous movies I have ever seen. However, Kwan and Scheinert did a spectacular job of keeping this movie from becoming tacky, uncomfortable, or completely unwatchable. This concept and plot could have gone wrong in a multitude of ways and yet, it was clever and meaningful from start to end. Not only was the plot fantastically done, but it was also extremely well performed and beautifully shot. It overwhelms the audience in the best way possible as we see Evelyn grapple with the fact that her life could have been completely different if she had decided not to marry her husband and stay in China, but we also see what her life could have been like in a multitude of universes, some strange, some beautiful, and some downright laughable.
Everything Everywhere All At Once is an insane, yet tear-jerking, film that was clearly made with passion. Unlike other movies focused on multiverses, this one actually took the concept to a more elevated level by using the idea of a multiverse to tell an actually profound story about the pressure of being an immigrant as well as the stress that comes with it. It is a movie that will most definitely be considered a classic in the future and the bottom line is that it’s a must-watch.