Everything Everywhere All At Once, directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (professionally known as the Daniels), is a film that has left a lasting impression on me. However, it initially left me perplexed. The 2022 film is unique as it is a genre-bending view and takes on philosophical concepts while exploring many issues. Its absurd and comedic elements, ranging from an existential everything bagel to sentient rocks with googly eyes, may sometimes make the film hard to take seriously. But in actuality, it explores many pressing topics, including but not limited to the Chinese immigrant experience and generational trauma.
A24’s production of Everything Everywhere All At Once follows Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh), a middle-aged Chinese immigrant overwhelmed with the stress of her family’s failing laundromat. The struggles also engulf her in her marriage with Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) and her relationship with her elderly father (James Hong), who disapproves of her choices in life. But, the film centres around Evelyn and her daughter Joy’s (Stephanie Hsu) strained relationship, which threatens to unfold the fabric of existence as she discovers that she is just one in a limitless multiverse of Evelyns, making her the only one who can save it.
When I went to watch Everything Everywhere All At Once for the first time during its release, I had no idea what I was walking into. With my little knowledge of the film, I never would have guessed that it would make me so emotional while also making me laugh. I was pleasantly surprised, not just because of its chaotic yet intriguing plot and visuals but also because of how it does the most to present and keep Asian voices at the forefront of the narrative of Hollywood cinema.
As someone half Chinese, I appreciated seeing East Asian culture and philosophies being embraced effortlessly, along with how it presented the immigrant experience of an Asian-American family. The Daniels explain that the multiverse is a metaphor for the immigrant experience and modern life. It contemplates how science fiction can empower people at the margins, which can be used through imagination and paying critical attention to how the past and present can inform one’s sense of self. The film’s alternate worlds are dedicated to portraying a Chinese-American family in the present, utilizing the multiverse to explore the range of their desires and dreams.
Everything Everywhere All At Once creates a dialogue surrounding growing up in a confined cultural framework rarely presented on screen, as the Asian-American experience has been merely represented in the media by popular extravagant films such as Crazy Rich Asians.
To add, Evelyn undergoes her father’s great expectations for her life, which is also projected onto her daughter, Joy. This chain of struggle passed on through generations is realistically presented in the film as Evelyn’s deferred dreams as an immigrant are placed upon her daughter. The film highlights the generational gap and trauma, especially in Evelyn and Joy’s distant relationship. The disconnect between the Chinese immigrant mother and American daughter is honestly showcased as Evelyn is prompted to come to terms with Joy’s queerness, tattoos, dropping out of college and struggles with depression, despite having an opposing point of view.
Everything Everywhere All At Once deserves all the praise and recognition and is a movie I wholeheartedly recommend watching. At its core, it represents the depths of one’s Asian identity and explores the complexities of a Chinese-American family in the most absurd yet fascinating way possible.