Everything Everywhere All At Once is a film that comes along once in a line time. Masterfully
written, edited and put together it's one of my favourite films of all time already.
I'd heard about how good it was from several people but unfortunately due
to it's staggered release schedule it didn't get released in the UK until Mid
may. Often I find when films are hyped up like this that they fail to deliver
but not only did this live up to my expectations, it completely surpassed them.
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After rewatching it for a second time I thought go through why I love the movie, some of the
hidden things in it you might have missed and also talk about what I took from the ending.
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Now throughout it we follow Evelyn, a landromat owner who's not only struggling financially but
also with her family. Her husband Waymond has filed for divorce, her father sees her
as a disappointment and Evelyn struggles to accept her daughters sexuality and girlfriend.
After being called in by the IRS her husbands body gets possessed by someone claiming to
be from the Alpha Universe that wants her to help him stop a great threat known as the Jobu
Chewbacc...Jojo Jubicki...sorry Jobu Tupaki who it's revealed is Alpha Joy. In the Alpha Universe,
Evelyn discovered how to jump from universe to universe and she also pushed her daughter
into doing this. Unfortunately it fractured her mind and Alpha Joy now lives in every universe
everywhere all at once. Witnessing everything, Alpha Joy realised that nothing mattered and
she put everything onto a bagel which created a black hole to destroy the entire multiverse.
Yikes.
I love this idea and Howard Bloom actually theorised that the universe itself
was shaped like a bagel which is a nice little...nice little detail.
Bagel shapes litter the move and even in the opening shot of the film
we see the family singing kareoke in a circular mirror with the glass in the centre of it.
After this switches we then get a circilur fan with a circle in the middle,
a circular light with an inner ring and another circular mirror. You
might also notice the Googlie eyes on the pillow which becomes important later on.
Waymonds face is then reflected in the mirror next to him showing how they are
seperate and forshadowing Alpha Waymond existing in another universe. Later on
when Evelyn and Joy are in this room the security camera feed switches for a second
and we see the circles of the Universe before Waymond is taken over by the Alpha version of
himself. There's then the laundromatte itself, which is litter with these circular holes that
create the doors of the machine. We're even introduced to Joy starring into the black
abyss of one of these as the clothes spin around the centre foreshadowing her arc.
At the IRS Waymond uses an umbrella with Donuts on it and we discover that Evelyn
has several hobbies that she's tried to claim as business expenses. This
idea of her being multiskilled is of course reflected in the alternate lives she leads.
There's the circular mirror beside Diedres desk and also the ring around her necklace.
On the way there we pass someone twirling a pizza sign and later on learn that Evelyn
almost wouldve become this person had there been a slight change to things. Diedre at
the IRS also circles the recipets with black rings and yep...it's all connected.
The dialogue is extra sharp too with Evelyn saying she wonders how Waymond
would've survived without her but we learn that he would've become
a successful businessman had they never moved to America together.
Her goodbye to Joy in the opening is also shot in the same was as it is at the end.
There's also the lines about her constantly being pulled away whilst she's literally pulled away
and I could probably spend an hour talking about all the connective tissue this film has.
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Now though we've spent this opening just talking about the details and imagery that is used
throughout, what the film also excels at is it's overall message and character development. This
is very much a story about families explored through the multiverse. Evelyn is constantly
distracted with her business, trying to be a good but strict parent and also how she feels
she failed her father. She can't keep her focus on anything and themematically this is shown through
the film by her constant reality jumping. Evelyn's mind is always somewhere else and even when
the IRS conversation is happening early on she's distracted by the conversation with Alpha Waymond.
The ending comes full circle for this moment and we once more catch her in the office being
distracted by the idea of the multiverse. However she grounds herself and makes sure
that she's present in the moment, enjoy all the highs and lows that life offers.
As many of you know i've just had a twins and even though I love spending time with them
I have to admit I can often get distracted by my phone and working on the channel.
This is very much my alternate life that takes me away from being present in the moment
but movies like this remind us to keep our focus on what's really important.
Now not only is this a journey for Evelyn but it's also one for her daughter Joy.
Though we're told that she's travelling through every version of the universe to
kill all the Evelyn's that she comes across, by the midpoint of the movie we discover the truth.
Alpha Joy actually wants to find a version of her mother that can travel through the
multiverse to the level that she can. Finally she'll have some common ground with her and
very much gain the mother that she was unable to have in all of the universes where she was
pushed out of her life. She just wants someone who can understand the emptiness within her
and also emphathasise with what it's like living a life where she's unable to find a true connection.
We are told by Alpha Joy that she put everything onto the bagel but
when she's listing off the contents of this she states its things like.
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The opening of these items pull from her life and it very much represents the hopes and dreams
that she had but was forced out of having through Evelyn pushing down the path she wanted for her.
This black hole very much represents the pain within her and thus it's
become an all consuming void that will destroy all meaning in the multiverse.
The film culminates with Joy wishing to travel into this, a metaphor for her becoming lost
forever in the nihilism of what she feels inside. Evelyn however realises that she also has the
ability to make everyone happy and all those that have tormented her throughout the movie
become people that she transforms by using their inner most desires to transform them.
This is something that she herself experienced in some ways.
Upon gaining the abilities of the Jobu 2pac...she too almost lost her way,
giving into the ffeeling of meaningless that she discovered.
However, Waymond pulls her back and she realises that she loves him in every universe.
Yes that's a Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness reference and also
isnt it weird how both the main characters in that movie also get eyes on their foreheads.
But I digress.
Waymond constantly talks about unconditional kindness
and throughout the movie he demonstrates this at several points. There's the complaining
customer that he dances with at the Laundromatte whilst Evelyn is distracted and of course his
speech about being Kind. Though Evelyn looked down on him and thought that he was naieve,
she now sees that he's someone who will be there through it all. Even though there's a
universe where he went off on his own to become a success, he still came back to her. There's
also the universe where she's in love with Diedre showing that even those she's an enemy
of could potentially be the best thing that ever happened to her if she alters her perspective.
Waymond shows her unconditional love throughout every universe and this show Evelyn that empathy
is the way to finding a connection. This is why he style of fighting changes for the final battle
and she instead employs love and kindness to help who she can.
It's the same strategy she uses on Joy and in the carpark,
Evelyn finally sees things from Joy's point of view and she understands that she has to
at least give her the chance to leave should she wish to.
Now this is shown by her travelling away,
her rock falling off the cliff and also her going into the Bagel. Finally she's allowed her
daughter to stand on her own two feet, however she also asks the same understanding from Joy.
Throughout every possibility they've managed to become every version of
themselves but they haven't been able to put themselves in the other persons shoes.
Finally at this moment though they do and both realise that they could be anything anywhere
but they'd rather be with each other in that moment there. All they really have
is each other and though they could run away and escape this,
it's where everything is truly all together and they are with each other.
Even the movie star Evelyn who's known nothing but success and admiration would rather work in
a laundromatte if it means she got to have him as a husband and Joy as a daughter.
I'm not...I'm not cry...I love you Raccaccoonie.
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Evenlyn almost let Joy go but the pair both reveal that in all the endless possibilities
that they'd rather be together. Finally the family is as one and whereas in the
opening we had Evelyn around the table on her own, here the family are around her.
Another thing I noticed was that there are now 4 sets of googlie eyes.
We have the ones above the coat hangers on the left,
two just about the security feed and also one over Joys shoulder.
This clearly also represents the family and whereas in the beginning there was one,
they are now all together.
Life is complete for them and rather than all living in feelings of disappointment, they've
started this new year with each other accepting things the way they are and making the best of it.
Evelyn and Waymond share a kiss for the first time in a long time
and finally there is a feeling of content to the entire movie and it shows the journey that she
has gone on. Throughout every universe, Evelyn has experienced other things but here in this moment,
she knows she truly belongs. The movie very much carries the message of making the best of
Now this is why I love the film because on top of all the cool effects and references,
there's a heart to it that isn't really matched in most other movies.
Beyond it's story though the film also excels in other areas like it's editing,
score and action. There's so many new and creative things that they do in this film and
it's constantly awash with so many aspects that haven't really been used all that much in film.
Even aspects like the aspect ratio constantly switching gives this feeling of otherworldiness
and I love how you can often forget that most of this is taking place inside the IRS building.
There's so much going on with the film and even after discussing all of this
I feel like I'm still just scratching the surface. There's so much complexity
here but there's also the simplicity at the core of it that this is a film about family.
It's fast and furious but also heavily layered with amazing acting, a career defining performance
by Michelle Yeoh and also Ke Huy Quan. He's been massively overlooked in Hollywood and
after his appearance in Temple of Doom and The Goonies he was pretty much cast to the side.
However he's come back with an incredible performance that very much grounds the film
and it brings in the incredible visuals of it to lace it with a feeling of humanity.
The movie excels at everything it attempts to do and i'll be shocked if it doesnt sweep the next
Oscars. For me it has the best editing, best cinematogrpahy, best directing, best original
screen play, the lot. This is an incredible film and it's easy to score it a perfect...
10/10
I'd of course love to hear your thoughts so make sure you comment below and let me know you punk.
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With that out the way thank you for sitting through the video,
I’ve been Paul and I’ll see you next time. Take care, Peace