a wacky journey through the multiverse worn by Michelle Yeoh, virtuoso

After the wacky Swiss Army Man starring Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe released in 2016, director duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (the Daniels) return for Everything everywhere all at once, an explosive and fantastic feature film, at the crossroads of dimensions. If the film has won over critics in the United States, it will still have to convince French audiences when it is released on August 31.

Headlining the feature film, we find the queen of martial arts, Michelle Yeoh in the role of a mother in debt, on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Her character Evelyn Wang tries somehow to save the family laundry from ruin, but completely abandons her daughter Joy and her husband Waymond. Suddenly, she finds herself immersed in the multiverse. A world composed of parallel dimensions in which she explores all the destinies she could have lived. But the dream turns into a nightmare when a terrible threat appears and could destroy the world as well as Evelyn’s family.

Everything, everywhere, all at once, is a difficult film to classify. It is both a surreal, fantasy and kung fu feature film with impressive action scenes. Epic slow motions are worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster or the saga Matrix. But it is also a sensitive work, on the themes of family and cultural pressure. The heroine Evelyn left China for the United States at a very young age with her husband Waymond and against her father’s advice.

Since then, Evelyn has been suffocating under the obligation to succeed in her life to honor her patriarch. She struggles to keep up appearances despite a family ready to implode and crumbling under the bills. As she journeys through the multiverse, Evelyn will struggle to pick up the pieces and reconnect with her daughter Joy and her husband, while making peace with all versions of herself.

It’s no surprise the Daniels have more than one trick up their sleeve. Their overflowing imagination offers a cascade of wacky scenes over the dimensions explored by Evelyn. The young woman becomes in turn a cook, a singer, a movie star… Situations that turn absurd for our greatest pleasure, in these universes where everything is possible, even having sausages instead of fingers. If the humor can sometimes turn gritty, the dialogues remain on the whole lively and comical, like Evelyn’s pungent punchlines. The most attentive spectators will be able to appreciate the winks and the cinematographic references, once again confirming the ingenuity of the duo of directors.

Whether Everything everywhere all at once doesn’t crumble under its own weight, that’s thanks to its strong cast. They manage to brilliantly embody the multiple versions of their characters, encountered through dimensional leaps. Michelle Yeoh is dazzling, both fragile and warlike. Her on-screen husband, played by Ke Huy Quan (Half-Moon in IndianaJones)counterbalanced by his role as a tired husband, but also endearing and touching.

Jamie Lee Curtis is unrecognizable as a bitter tax clerk, who actually turns out to be deeply human. Finally, Stephanie Hsu, daughter of Evelyn, is a revelation. The actress often relegated to supporting roles (The Fabulous Mrs. Maisel) embodies here, Joy, a young woman in lack of landmarks and struggling to have her homosexuality accepted by her mother with whom she can no longer communicate. We will also note the presence of the very prolific James Hong, in the role of the patriarch camped on his traditional values.

Everything everywhere all at once is a complete work, which innovates and has fun by departing from the classic codes of the action film. While offering a neat aestheticfrom the photograph to the soundtrack signed by the group Sound Luxwith flamboyant costumes by stylist Shirley Kurata. We can already predict, without too much fear, a nice success in theaters.

Everything everywhere all at once, August 31, 2022 at the cinema

Gender : action, comedy, sci-fi, drama
Directors: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (The Daniels)
Country : Eunited states
Duration : 2h19
Exit in France : August 31, 2022
Distributer : Original Factory

Summary: Evelyn Wang is exhausted: she no longer understands her family, her job and is crumbling under taxes… Suddenly, she finds herself immersed in the multiverse, parallel worlds where she explores all the lives she could have led. Faced with dark forces, she alone can save the world but also preserve the most precious thing: her family.