Everything Everywhere All at Once

Description

Everything Everywhere All at Once is a 2022 American comedy-drama film that follows Evelyn Quan Wang, a Chinese-American immigrant who discovers she must connect with other versions of herself to save the multiverse. The film is a surreal adventure that incorporates elements of science fiction, fantasy, martial arts, and animation.

Notable Cast

• Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Quan Wang
• Stephanie Hsu as Joy Wang
• Ke Huy Quan as Waymond Wang
• James Hong as Gong Gong
• Jamie Lee Curtis as Deirdre Beaubeirdre
• Jenny Slate plays Debbie the Dog Mom

Themes

• Mother-Daughter Divide (or any parental relationship)
• The divide that exists between parents and their kids who are in a digital world ruled by the internet and the mental health struggles that exist in a lot of millenials and younger that the parents can't connect with.
• The meaning of life is only what you make it to be
• The overwhelming theme of "nothing matters" is meant to underscore the decision by the main characters to make something matter at the end.
• Kindness
• “You tell me that it's a cruel world, and we're all just running around in circles. I know that. I've been on this earth just as many days as you. When I choose to see the good side of things, I'm not being naïve. It's strategic and necessary. It's how I've learned to survive through everything. I know you see yourself as a fighter. Well, I see myself as one too. This is how I fight. The only thing that I do know is, you've got to be kind"
    - Waymond Wang
• The complicated nature of love and family
• The struggle to find acceptance in the life we actually have
• As opposed to the infinite number of imagined lives that we don't have.

My Take on EEAAO

The reason why I love EEAAO so much is because of all of the prevalent themes that exist and the outstanding cinematography. The messages that this movie tackles are so clear yet subtle at the same time. You can look at the movie purely at a wacky comedy and not take a second look at the underlying themes, or you can look at the movie as a deep dive into the human psyche and the meaning of life. EEAAO tackles many different things that our world needs to hear right now. I have started to notice that many people in my generation are starting to move towards nihilism and the idea that nothing matters. Life is only what you make it up to be and the value that you are going to get out of it is what you put into it. I get my satisfacction in life from helping others and making valuable connections with those around me. This movie perfectly exemplifies that and I think that is why I love it so much.

Fun Facts

• All the VFX for this film were done by 9 people, including the two directors, with the majority of the shots being done by a core group of 5 people. None of the VFX team went to school for VFX. They were all friends who taught themselves with tutorials they found online for free.
• Michelle Yeoh (Evelyn Quan Wang) did all of her own stunts for the film.
• To keep plot details under wraps before the trailer was released, the IMDb synopsis read, "It's about a 55-year-old Chinese woman trying to finish her taxes."
• Evelyn speaks to her father in Cantonese, but she speaks to Waymond in Mandarin, showing cultural differences in their upbringing. Evelyn speaks to Joy in Mandarin and English, while Joy answers back in English and bad Chinese. Neither one finds the words to express their ideas clearly to the other, keeping them divided.