Since the release of “Everything Everywhere All at Once”, A24, the independent production company, has further brought themselves into the spotlight against the usual blockbuster producing studios.
Previously on Letterboxd, a film reviewing platform preferred by many filmmakers and cinephiles, the Korean film “Parasite” held the role of highest rated film. The application’s users have banded together to give “Everything Everywhere” the title of Letterboxd’s highest rated film beating out Parasite’s two year hold of the title.
The movie follows the hardworking and pessimistic Evelyn Wang, her sporadic, yet always supportive husband Waymond, and their daughter Joy. The family owns a laundromat and have been struggling to deal with audits, taxes, and weakening family relationships. At a meeting with the film’s proclaimed “Auditor of the month”, Deirdre, Evelyn notices her husband acting strangely. She soon finds out that she is trying to be contacted by Waymond in an alternate universe to defeat Jobu Topaki. Topaki’s attacks on the multiverse are the manifestation of Joy and Evelyn’s poor mother daughter relationship and to defeat Topaki, she must also confront the issues between the two. While this movie seems like an action film, I especially enjoyed the message behind the fighting sequences. The film pushes a message of acceptance and gratefulness.
By the end of the film, Evelyn embraces her family, her struggles, and her life. Whether she is a famous movie star, an opera singer, or just a laundromat owner, life can be beautiful. There wasn’t a single moment in this movie that I thought, “Wow, Michelle Yeoh is such a good actress” because I never saw Michelle Yeoh. I saw Evelyn Wang and her family because the actors perfected their technique to that degree. Another thing that really stuck out to me was the hand to hand combat in the film. It had all the crazy fights of a martial arts film, but a deeper, almost philosophical substance. The only downside of this film is that some could find the plot a bit confusing due to the multiverse concept, but given the two hour duration there is plenty of time to understand. Waymond’s optimistic character can act as an inspiration to anyone who watches this film. He says, “In another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you” which really summarizes the deeper message within this movie. Life is about the relationships you make with others and living in the now rather than dwelling on the past. I’m giving this film five stars because I haven’t seen a movie that had an impact like this one in a long time.