Rarely do we have the opportunity to see a film so delirious, so crazy, so exploded. Very assertive outrageous gags rub shoulders with perfectly set action scenes, cinematographic references are beautifully integrated into the story, and the stunning editing is put to the service of a completely insane story which, however, ends up making sense.
Posted yesterday at 8:30 a.m.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (Everything, everywhere, all at once in French version) is one of those exhilarating experiences that can be enjoyed more particularly on the big screen, preferably during a screening where there are few empty seats.
On the strength of their success in esteem obtained five years ago thanks to Swiss Army Man, a first feature film in which their overflowing imagination was already at the service of an approach that was surprising to say the least, Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, nicknamed the Daniels, add to it. They lead us this time into a story where each of the characters has several alter egos in the multiverse. But don’t expect a Marvel-like world here. The Daniels much prefer to use the concept to simply give free rein to their humor which, if not always in the best taste, is always surprising. Just see the shape of a trophy adorning the office of the revenue agency to quickly understand that the object in question will later have a much more unusual function in one of the parallel universes where the protagonists will find themselves.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ENTRACT FILMS
Jamie Lee Curtis and Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Oncea film by Daniel Scheinert and Dan Kwan
Basically, the story is quite simple. Long-time Chinese immigrant Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) lives an unfulfilling life running a laundromat in a Los Angeles neighborhood. Her husband (Ke Huy Quan) is preparing to file for divorce, her relationship with her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) is conflicted, and that with her elderly father (James Hong), who has never approved of the life choices of his daughter is equally so. Everything changes the day when, in the elevator taking her to the office of the formidable Deirdre Beaubeirdra (Jamie Lee Curtis), a tax collector who demands accountability, Evelyn’s husband encourages his wife to enter the multiverse so that ‘she can fulfill an important mission for the fate of the world…
A family story
From this starting point, the Daniels set Evelyn and those around her on an exhilarating merry-go-round. In a frantic pace that leaves no respite to the viewer, the filmmakers offer a unique spectacle, during which Evelyn can become a martial arts expert in one part of the multiverse, or a great international star in another, or the leader of a great restaurant, or in love with her tax collector despite her fingers suddenly turning into hot-dog sausages, or even becoming a stone. With, in passing, nods to The Matrixat Wong Kar-wai’s cinema (Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love in particular), to tiger and dragon (in which Michelle Yeoh starred), at 2001, a space odysseyand even… to Ratatouille !
The success of this film where all the known barriers explode in a thousand colors is first and foremost due to the strength of the characters who, despite their incursions into the multiverse, remain true. Everything Everywhere All at Once, which bears its title very well, is above all the story of a family. This solid base thus allows Daniel all the extravagances, all the excesses. Especially since they echo the diversity of Californian society in a way rarely seen in American cinema.
Supported by an impeccable cast, Michelle Yeoh finds here a role worthy of her. Present in each scene, the one that was revealed to Western audiences thanks to Tomorrow Never Dies, a James Bond from the Pierce Brosnan era, displays constant aplomb. And proves how right she was to place her trust in filmmakers endowed with an overflow of imagination. It is very gratifying to see her lend herself to such a transgressive experience, just like Jamie Lee Curtis for that matter. In dramatic fashion, these more mature, ever-go-go actresses show how risk-taking can pay off.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (Everything, everywhere, all at once in French version) is on the bill. To do with a big bag of popcorn.
Comedy
Everything Everywhere All at Once
(VF: Everything, everywhere, all at once)
Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
Starring Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis
2:20 a.m.