Marvellous multi-verses and enveloping emotion: Everything Everywhere All At Once

The trend of multiverse films in recent years has been… overbearing, to say the least. I suppose we have Marvel primarily to blame; with the apocalyptic reign of the cinematic universe having catapulted many a suited-and-booted, lycra-clad A-list actor onto our screens. I suppose that the need for multiverse films was inevitable then; afterall, we can’t do origin films and Avengers-esque cinematic odysseys every year (though that certainly doesn’t stop the likes of Disney and Warner Brothers from trying). Thus, perhaps what defined the idea of a ‘multiverse’ film in my head previously was the need for pre-established characters in a set universe, all playfully bumping into each other as the film’s producers wink and nod at the audience for two and half hours.

This rather one-sided perception of mine changed, however, upon seeing Everything Everywhere All At Once. Here is a completely unique, own-standing multiverse film, that requires its viewers to know absolutely zilch about it before collapsing down in the cinema. I know this for a fact, as I myself knew precisely nothing about this film before seeing it – other than a few Instagram ads that seemed to rather prominently feature googly-eyes, and a critical quote praising its new approach to the multiverse genre. This in itself is something that ought to be praised - even if the film was total pants, which it most certainly is not - it's certainly a rarity for a film not to be some sort of ‘quel’ to a preceding venture before it. But perhaps the film’s greatest triumph is how incredibly good it actually is. Though I was rather cynical in the first half, where a slightly baggy opening 20 minutes does seem somewhat overbearing at points, once the multiverse concept of the film’s mind-bending plot is unravelled, I can quite confidently say that the film became a work of genius. Incredibly strange, whimsical and mouth-agape genius, but genius nonetheless.

Though I feel this film is enjoyed at its best when going in completely cold, what I will say is that it is a highly emotionally charged family-drama, which deftly succeeds in enfolding the viewer in its loving embrace. Despite the incredible and fantastical happenings constantly flitting onto the screen (so much so that you will be frequently asking yourself “Did I really just see that?”), here is a film that wears its heart proudly on its sleeve. Tears were definitely shed during the film’s poignant final act; which is certainly an achievement, given that much of this section is given to two characters in an intense dialogue with each other as rocks on a dead, lifeless planet.

Two central performances from the main cast stand out as particularly excellent; that of our protagonist Evelyn, played by Michelle Yeoh, and the wonderfully high-strung auditor Jamie Lee Curtis. Where Yeoh deftly balances the various emotional plotlines of the film’s interweaving story arc, whilst still managing to remain her own, individual character, Curtis manages to create much of the film’s comedy – her serious, stiff-upper lip demeanour providing the perfect contrast to the eccentric and bewildering happenings of the multiverse around her. Perhaps less successful was Ke Huy Quan’s Waymond; the hapless, gullible husband and sidekick to Evelyn. Though his performance does certainly tug at your heartstrings, at times it does come off a bit too characterture-ish (which, admittedly, is somewhat inevitable when you’re trying to keep up with the never-ending twists and turns of the multiverse).

A similar problem affects Stephanie Hsu’s Joy, the daughter of our central couple; however, to give due credit to both performances, they too held me captive during the final act, and only minorly impacted on the overall viewing experience. Though both actors sometimes struggled to keep up with Yeoh’s wonderous performance, all three aided in holding together the emotional core of the film; and still had me, and most of the cinema, in tears by the end of the film’s two hour and twenty-minute runtime. Speaking of runtime, this was perhaps the aspect of the film that shocked me the most – I am the sort of person to get very impatient with films, especially when they fall over the ninety-minute mark (blame it on the phones, or just my obsessive rewatching of Lara Croft Tomb Raider; whatever). Either way, despite the slightly clunky opening section, once the multiverse gets underway you are truly swept up within the film’s frenzied dash through its various eclectic worlds – at one point, where I thought the film had ended, I felt incredibly cross and saddened, as I just wanted to keep watching our three central characters explore every far-flung corner of the multiverse.

But, all good things must come to an end, especially when they encompass everything, everywhere… yeah, you get the gist. In summary, this film was a beautifully creative and ingenious exploration of the multiverse conceit, which the likes of Marvel and DC could only dream of; a film with a truly heartfelt emotional core, and a pair of directors (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) who seemingly have no creative boundary that they are unwilling to cross in their pursuit of cinematic artistry.