Released in March of 2022, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” was a sleeper hit whose popularity exploded by the year’s end. Mixing sci-fi with family drama and humor, writers and directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert created a movie that perfectly balances well-choreographed action scenes with a nuanced take on the immigrant story and familial conflict.
The film centers on Evelyn Wang, a middle-aged Chinese American laundromat owner played by Michelle Yeoh. She operates the laundromat with her husband, Waymond Wang, and the family is battling many issues; Evelyn’s disorganization has prompted an IRS audit of the laundromat; Waymond is considering divorcing Evelyn; and the Wang’s daughter, Joy, has distanced herself from her mother due to Evelyn’s unwillingness to accept Joy’s sexuality. The chaos is heightened after a visit to the IRS unexpectedly reveals that Evelyn is the key to saving the universe from an omnipresent being wreaking havoc throughout the multiverses.
The movie puts a unique spin on the idea of a multiverse by focusing less on the pseudo-science behind it and more on ramifications of this concept. Because each multiverse contains an iteration of the characters that made different choices than their earthly counterparts, the movie forces the characters and the audience to reflect on the decisions they make and how their actions affect their own fates and those of others.
One of these multiverses, the Alphaverse, prompts particularly meaningful reflection. Because its residents can escape the consequences of their actions by “verse-jumping” or teleporting to other universes, they have no incentive to behave justly. The desolate Alphaverse is the natural outcome of a system in which recklessness goes largely unpunished; people lose empathy for one another and pursue paths of self-destruction.
Unlike the characters in the Alphaverse, those in the central verse (the one Evelyn inhabits) must face the negative consequences of their actions. Evelyn grapples with the negative effects of her actions on Joy whom Evelyn had berated for being a lesbian and not meeting Evelyn’s high expectations.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once’s” examination of how our actions affect others is especially pertinent to the film industry, whose past actions have resulted in negative consequences for Asians. Over the past century, Hollywood has cast very few Asians in leading roles, and their roles are usually stereotypical and do not do the actors justice. Too often, the Asian character is relegated to nothing more than a sidekick to the white main character, as is the case in critically acclaimed films like “The Karate Kid,” “The Last Samurai,” and “The Killing Fields.”
Perpetuating this detrimental practice historically was the Academy Awards, which gave the Asian secondary characters Best SupportingActor nominations. This displayed to movie producers that Asian supporting characters could be used to help garner critical acclaim, while white actors could be kept as leads to appeal to American audiences.
But, in March, the film won seven awards at the 95th Annual Oscars. It was exciting that these Oscars were the first in which more than two Asian actors were nominated—a large dent in the glass ceiling—and more exciting yet that of the four Asian actors nominated this year, three acted in “Everything, Everywhere All at Once:” Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, and Ke Huy Quan. Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan both took home the awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor respectively, becoming the fifth and sixth Asian actors in the history of the Academy to be honored with this award. Two of the other awards were given to Director Daniel Kwan and Producer Jonathan Wang, both of whom have talked about how their Asian parents inspired parts of the film.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” has demonstrated that Asians can be the leads in any genre.
Through its unique look into actions, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has created a plot that serves as a thoughtful reflection on the film industry and its marginalization of Asians. The movie has ushered in a new age of filmmaking where the lead cast members do not have to be white actors, but actors who will reflect the rich diversity of our world. Audiences will be able to see everything about their unique identities reflected on the big screen everywhere, all at once.
