KAILYN REYNOLDS
Special to The Leader
There are only a few things in life that are certain besides death, preparing your taxes and the possibility of doing never-ending laundry either for yourself or others.
Writers and directors Daniel Kwana and Daniel Schinert — who also work under the name “Daniels” — recent A24 film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” shows where the two began to think about their 25 million dollar film. The film is filled with a suspenseful plot with lots of twists and turns, such as the cooking pot filled with noodles shown at the start of the movie or meeting different versions of who your family members.
On the surface, the film may look like a head-turning metaphysical multiverse that may give you a sensory overload with the amount of movement and different colors. But deep down, the film shows the story of Chinese immigrants striving to live in America, the drastic drama between mother and daughter, along with a smitch of comedy to brighten the mood.
The great Michelle Yeoh plays Evelyn Wang, an over-stressed laundromat worker living in America with her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) and their daughter Joy (Stephaine Hsu). Despite her home issues in her current universe, she quickly has to battle in a multiverse with lives she could have lived, to save her world and keep her family knotted. With her life being full of stress and frustration, she also must deal with her father Gong Gong (James Hong) who deserted her when she married her husband Waymond.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” is a fan-filled movie with such creative ideas that connect moments, whether sad, happy or funny, to every universe. There is a balance of emotions any person can experience.
Two SUNY Fredonia students, Sam Blais and Thomas Gentile, both saw “Everything Everywhere All at Once” in Buffalo at Walden Galleria mall when it first appeared in cinemas on March 30. Gentile, a junior video production major, led with saying, “It has great lead performances and some truly original plot and visuals wrapped up into the most human movie I’ve ever seen.” The movie was able to show how difficult it is to provide two story leads — one wacky and the other profound. There is a willingness that allows the audience’s “what ifs” they made up in their head to turn into plot points.
Blais, also a junior production major, later described the film as, “A movie that will have you laughing at hotdog fingers one second and crying the next.” Reviews on IMDb,a database website that holds information related to films, television series, home videos, video games and streaming content online, held mixed feelings regarding the film.
One person reviewed the film with a headline that stated, “self-indulgent, seizure-inducing, nonsensical overlong mess,” with only three pros and several cons. Another person seemed confused about the movie, going in without doing research on what the movie might entail.
However, the majority of the reviews were high. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is rated at 8.8/10 out of 26,000 stars. Out of 100 movies, it is in the top five.
The movie is not perfect. Any film with this title and perspective is messy. Maybe the movie went on too long. Perhaps it was a bit crazy in the beginning, middle and end. But the Daniels’ thought and time they put into the movie is what made it a bit chaotic yet such a spectacular film.