Everything Everywhere All At Once
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE [2022]
Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu & Jamie Lee Curtis
Direction & Screenplay by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
Languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese
I’ve always enjoyed watching Michelle Yeoh: she is a phenomenal actress. Therefore, when I found out that she was finally starring in a movie I was immediately inclined to watch it. But, unfortunately, my love for Michelle Yeoh does not trump my hatred for Sci-Fi films. Whilst members of my family loved this picture, I simply could not sit through it: it was definitely not my cup of tea at all (at least the science fiction element of it).
Let’s start with the acting. I find it difficult to discern what good acting looks like in a film that’s not very intellectually stimulating, but one thing that I can say for sure is that there was definitely a lot of versatility in the roles of each character in the cast. That’s a huge credit to the screenwriters: science fiction movies that are not part of a series often lack character development. Ke Huy Quan was pretty good: definitely deserving of award nominations, but not really of the awards compared to his competition this year. There were definite extremes to his character: and we was able to pull them off equally well.
Now to Michelle Yeoh. She was very able to explore the bounds of her character with such ease. In my mind, the alternate universes that she had to experience were fragments of her deteriorating mental state, representative of the sides of the personality she has to suppress to survive as an immigrant in America. Trying to navigate the difficult concepts of identity and alienation is difficult to do in itself, and Yeoh was able to do this with the same grace that she brings to every role she plays. The role she played in this film was very different yet profoundly similar to the roles she has played in other productions throughout her career: all of her characters struggle in some way, but her character here had a different feeling altogether. The experience of immigration and the divide between Eastern and Western ideologies was played so accurately. All I can say is, wow!
I didn't really see the appeal of Jamie Lee Curtis in this film. She's a great actress and she always has been, but this performance was in no way award winning. Stephanie Hsu was also pretty good - it was good for an actress who is relatively new in the big leagues.
As often happens with films that have a pretty simplistic plot, I ended up reading way too much into every little scene. I don’t know whether that was the intention of the screenwriters, but if so, congratulations are in order. I don’t know whether the screenwriters were making comments about the role of immigrants in society, especially immigrant women or whether the absurdity of the science fiction elements mirrored the absurdity of conforming to a new culture, which immigrants have to experience. Although I really disliked the science fiction elements to the film, despite the flashy visuals and effects, the script was incredibly thought provoking for me.
7/10
