Film: Everything Everywhere All At Once

Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, James Hong, Jamie Lee Curtis & ensemble

Director(s): Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert

Rating: 4 Moons

What would it look like if adjectives like exhilarating, heartbreaking, pulsating, madness, crazy and creepy are packed in one feature film? There's an answer with us. It is called Everything Everywhere All At Once. The film, directed by Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, is what Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness should have looked like but sadly, the Marvel adventure failed to come closer to what was served in this bilingual ride of insanity. 

The story of Everything Everywhere All At Once revolves around a Chinese immigrant named Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) who lives in the United States of America with her father Gong Gong (James Hong), husband Waymond Wang (Ke Huy Quan) and daughter Joy Wang (Stephanie Hsu). Like a regular family, they are surviving in America by owning a laundromat business and doing their taxes. Evelyn is discontent with her life while having a tense relationship with Joy. 

Leading a life by sacrificing her dreams, Evelyn comes into her element only after realising that she's here for a greater good and larger purpose. As she gets access to a portal of multiverses, she has to stop the sinister activities of the devil and save her family and the rest of the world. From entering a world where people have hotdogs as fingers to living the life of a superstar, reimagining themselves as paper dolls to turning rocks, Everything Everywhere All At Once refuses to let the eyes of the viewer waver from the screen.

One blink and you could miss thousands of things. That's the kind of attention the film commands and you certainly cannot let your mobile phones disturb this insane tour of the true multiverse of madness. The sheer absurdness that  Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert load in this film deserves a massive round of applause. Holding a gun of bizarreness, the directors and writers trigger a bullet of absurdity which travels straight through different universes for more than two hours. But not without taking us along. 

Amid plenty of humour and fun moments, the makers, painlessly, inject a strong dose of emotions. The relationship between a mother and daughter couldn't have been portrayed any better. It subtly pricks you at the right time and moment, leaving behind a lasting effect. All this while, it also gives the audience enough time to interpret, think and fit pieces of the puzzle according to their understanding and pace. 

 While the writing and the story are the hero, it is masterfully executed by Michelle Yeoh. Painting a picture of how strong women and mothers look like, she is why Everything Everywhere All At Once is an experience that's worth taking. Revealing more about her would be a potential spoiler, which is not what we want, right? If creepy has to be personified, Stephanie Hsu should be the face. She's brilliant. Ke Huy Quan, James Hong, Jamie Lee Curtis and the ensemble cast add value to the narrative and make it a memorable and unforgettable watch. 

Director of Photography Larkin Seiple takes us into the multiverse through his immersive lens. Paul Rogers, the editor, keeps the tale crisp and to the point. Composer Son Lux does justice to the genre through his music. 

Step into the universe of multiple realities and get ready to be shocked. Everything Everywhere All At Once is not to be missed at any cost. 

PeepingMoon.com gives Everything Everywhere All At Once 4 Moons