Everything Everywhere All at Once

* The article reveals the movie’s content

‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’: Family love in the multiverse

The film is directed by Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan and produced by independent studio A24. Everything Everywhere All at Once revolves around Evelyn Wang (Yang Ziqiong), a Chinese immigrant woman, a laundromat owner who has many problems in life. While meeting tax officer Deirdre Beaubeirdre (Jamie Lee Curtis) to settle finances, Evelyn accidentally meets another version of her husband Waymond (Kuan Ke Huy) from the Alpha universe. He says she is the only version of Evelyn who can stop Jobu Topaki, the villain who is trying to destroy the peace of the multiverse. Evelyn must learn to travel across worlds, using all the skills the other versions have to fight evil.

The work surprises with the way the content is built about the multiverse world. The film takes place in many worlds where all the rules are broken. Evelyn must do strange things if she wants to travel from place to place. Upon reaching the new world, she will control the other version’s mind for a short time. This helps Evelyn to know the events that affect her in that world, and also learns the skills of the selves. Finally, she applied it to fight Jobu Topaki.

Evelyn’s role in the different universes is explained by the filmmaker using the butterfly effect. The universes appearing parallel to the world Evelyn – the laundromat – is living in are the result of actions that happened in the past. Every world in the multiverse is made up of choices that are different from the original.

Duong Tu Quynh’s acting is a bright spot for the film. The multiverse theme requires actors to improvise flexibly according to each character. The Malaysian-born star excellently played the role of a laundromat owner who is always under pressure because of work, taking care of a family of three generations. As she is governed by many worlds, she appears in many roles. This helps Duong Tu Quynh to show her reflexive talent with many roles in just 120 minutes.

Tu Quynh sometimes transforms into a chef who is passionate about the profession, determined to expose the truth of his colleagues; as a Chinese opera artist with a powerful voice… At times, Duong Tu Quynh “played” herself. In the film, there is a segment of Evelyn from a martial arts actress who, thanks to her efforts, became a famous “female hitter” in the international arena. At the age of 60, Tu Quynh still plays dangerous stunts by herself.

The film has a scene when Evelyn sees the divorce papers in her husband’s hands, she does not hesitate to put pen to paper and sign it. Tu Quynh’s eyes and actions in the scene marked the final tear in the husband and wife relationship between Evelyn and Waymond. Quan Ke Huy supported Tu Quynh to show all her acting techniques in the work. In the world Evelyn is a star, she confided to Waymond about a future where the two should not be married. The scene where they talk on the street reminds me of the work In The Mood For Love (2000) by Wong Kar-wai.

In an interview with The New York TimesQuan Ke Huy recounted his feelings when he learned to act in a movie with the actress: “I received a call about this wonderful project starring Michelle Yeoh. I never thought I would play the lead role in this movie. a movie with an idol. I’ve been her fan for many years.”

Duong Tu Quynh also conquered the audience in segments about mother and daughter Evelyn and Joy Wang (Stephanie Hsu). Joy goes public with her homosexual love for Becky, much to her mother’s shock. While Evelyn wants to guide her children to the standards she thinks are right, Joy does the opposite. Repressing emotions for so long makes Joy become “cold-blooded” versions in the multiverse. The work brings a frank dialogue between mother and daughter. Evelyn and Joy took turns expressing their views, releasing each other’s emotions. The mother has learned to open her heart, be patient, and be kind to her daughter.

When the mother and daughter confided near the end of the film, Duong Tu Quynh’s character was touched: “Maybe somewhere out there, people will discover something new again, something that makes us smaller and smaller. Something will explain why you came to me. And why I want to be here with you. I always want to be with you.”

‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’: Family love in the multiverse

The supporting cast brings many colors to the work. Quan Ke Huy is charming in the role of a husband who is considered weak and useless by his wife. Father Gong Gong (James Hong) – who just came to the US from China to visit his son, has never acknowledged Evelyn’s efforts. With experience in nearly 700 films, James Hong shows seriousness with the role. Jamie Lee Curtis as Deirdre Beaubeirdre presents two personalities in two worlds. She plays at the same time as a difficult tax agent with a questioning look and a cold-blooded assassin who is always on the lookout for Evelyn.

The CGI in the scenes where Evelyn jumps into the multiverse worlds was designed by the team to be epic. The film converges many humorous elements, action scenes and multi-layered emotions. There are scenes, the movie makes viewers think of animated works Ratatouille (2007), but replaced the mouse Emy with a mink bear sitting on top of the chef. The work, starring the Malaysian-born martial arts star, is indispensable for the Asian-style choreographed martial arts performances.

Everything Everywhere All at Once won the hearts of the majority of critics when receiving a “fresh” score of 95% on the page Rotten Tomatoes. Sheet Washington Blade commented: “The work exploits the multiverse as a device to activate the audience’s imagination”. As of May 21, the film has grossed $52.26 million after two months of release in the US, making it A24’s highest-grossing film at the box office.

Que Chi (Photo, video: A24)