Summary
As Netflix cements its brand by creating a category solely for upcoming Oscar nominees,Everything Everywherejoins its growing slate of past winners. Here’s everything to know about the buzzy sci-fi film now that it’s finally available to stream.
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
Cast
Michelle Yeoh Ke Huy Quan Stephanie Hsu Jamie Lee Curtis James Hong
Based on
Original film
2 hours 19 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score
94%
Everything Everywhere All at Oncefollows the Quan family: laundromat owners and Chinese immigrants Evelyn and Waymond, their daughter Joy, and Evelyn’s father, familially referred to asGong Gong. At the start of the film, the Quans are facing a host of reality-based struggles. Joy, in her 20s, has a tense relationship with Evelyn that is strained even further by Gong Gong’s presence. Joy, in a queer relationship with the white Becky, strives for reactions of normalcy from her parents when with her girlfriend. Yet Evelyn, aware of her father’s traditional values, struggles to provide this. Meanwhile, the laundromat is being audited by the IRS and, unbeknownst to Evelyn, Waymond is planning on divorcing her.
But things quickly take a turn for the unexpected when Evelyn is presented witha surreal crisis. A sprawling multiverse exists, containing innumerable versions of herself (and everyone) that are spawned and branched off with every decision she makes. Evelyn is called to action by an alternate version of Waymond, who tells her that the entire multiverse is being threatened by a powerful villain, and Evelyn is the only one left who can save it. What follows is an eccentric, emotional, and action-packed exploration of character and identity.
Why You Should WatchEverything Everywhere All at Once
Everything Everywhere All at Onceis an incredibly unique blend of genres that gives each a new depth. Combining an action-comedy with a complex sci-fi plot and rich interpersonal drama creates aone-of-a-kind viewing experience. It’s visually and aesthetically striking with impressive fight sequences, long stretches of silence, zany effects (keep an eye out for the hot dog fingers), and an overall impact that can truly only be described as everything, everywhere, all at once. All the elements of a strong sci-fi action hit are in this movie, complete with well-placed comedic moments that provide levity in all the right places.
Watch Everything Everywhere All at Once onNetflix
But the film also depicts a great many intersecting identities that offer several points of relatability to viewers. Through its action,Everything Everywhereexplores Chinese culture, a self-made immigrant lifestyle, generational gaps, queerness, financial struggles, and most prominently, the tension of a fraught mother/daughter relationship. The looming presence of Gong Gong’s value have played a role in all of Evelyn’s major life choices, from the way she operates her business and her marriage to the mother that she herself has become, perpetuating the generational longing for parental approval. In fact, it is this raw humanity that drives the film’s fantastic action.
Everything Everywhere All at Once’s Critical Reception
Everything Everywhere All at Oncewon 7 Academy Awardsout of its 11 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay (Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert), Best Direction (Kwan & Scheinert), Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Michelle Yeoh), Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Ke Huy Quan), and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Jaime Lee Curtis). In addition to its 94% onRotten Tomatoes,Everything Everywhereis equally beloved by industry reviewers. Michelle Yeoh’s performance is especially applauded, considered by many to be a career highlight.
Vulturedescribes the film as a “knockout” and “something approaching a maximalist masterpiece”;Varietycalls it a “hyperactive solution for today’s attention-deficit audiences” that “does everything but buck your seats and spritz you with water”, and fromThe New York Times, simply: “glorious”. Struggling, like other reporters, to fully put a finger on it,Vanity Fairsettles on referring toEverything Everywhereas “all that and more”, declaring that, “somehow, it works”. These are but a few of many voices lauding the unique, overstimulating feat that the movie accomplishes.
Yet while Michelle Yeoh is universally praised, the movie isn’t without its critics.The Guardiancoyly retitled it “Nothing Nowhere Over a Long Period of Time”.The New Yorkerconsidered the film a flop “despite the presence of Michelle Yeoh”, calling it a “feature-length pitch reel for a Marvel movie”. A movie so deliberately overwhelming is sure to elicit a range of reactions, but one thing can be said aboutEverything Everywhereacross the board: it was noticed. And its Oscar haul and Rotten Tomatoes score push through the buzz, solidly establishing its overarching positive reception. The rest of its lingering impact can only be determined by watching it.
