Everything, Everywhere, All At Once Movie Review

2022 has been a year full of surprises on the big and small screen. We have seen many great films come and go, but few have had the cultural impact that 'Everything, Everywhere, All At Once' has. The film is yet another great release from independent studio A24, which has been making waves in cinema for years now and has bought us modern day classics, including: 'The Witch', 'Hereditary', 'Mid 90s', 'The Farewell', 'Men', 'X' and 'Midsommar'.The studio has seen a lot of success in recent years, but 2022s 'Everything, Everywhere, All At Once' is now the highest-grossing film for the studio, with over $65 million at the domestic box office so far. For a studio predominently known for their output in the horror genre, when the first trailer arived for 'Everything, Everywhere, All At Once', everyone was excited as to what it could be like. The film was written and directed by 'The Daniels' (Swiss Army Man) and stars Michelle Yeoh as Evylyn Wanga Chinese immigrant, who is swept up in a multi-dimensional adventure, where the world as we know it is threatened and she can save it by also touching the lives she could have led across multiple dimensions. This film was absolutely stunning from start to finish and may just be the biggest surprise of 2022.

Multiverse-themed films have become a trend of late, with the popular animated tv series 'Rick & Morty' kickstarting the concept, 'Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse' cementing it in popular culture and and Marvel Cinematic Universe films 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' and 'Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness' continuing the trend. 'Everything, Everywhere, All At Once' does a brilliant job exploring this concept, delving into the mechanics of how it works, but not letting this bog down the narrative and the amazing character work that the Daniels do so well with here. The directing duo know exactly what works here and know that the film relies heavily on lead, Michell Yeoh's performance. They capitalise on this making her appear front and centre in the narrative, giving the audience wonderful variations of her character through very different walks of life.

Michelle Yeoh has had a wonderful career, but her performance here might just be the highlight. She is wonderful as Evylyn, we learn so much about her background and why she is the way that she is. The film does a masterful job of exploring her character, giving her depth that many protagonists lack in big screen films. Yeoh portrays these layers with gravitas and poise, showcasing her immense skill as one of Hollywood's most underrated performers. Yeoh also has a lot of heavy lifting to do here, she adds a slight variation to each of the versions of her character that she is playing and I found her to be revolutionary in this role. The supporting cast is also excellent with Jamie Lee Curtis also doing a magnificent job in a supporting role and Evylyn's husband Waymond played by Short-round himself, Ke Huy Quan, who is magnificent in the film. A real standout among the supporting cast though is Evylyn's daughter Joy Wang played by Stephanie Hsu, who is given a lot to do and a great deal of emotional depth. Her character is fantastic and Hsu does a wonderful job. She is a telnt too watch!

The film doesn't rely too heavily on special effects and spectacle. Its atmosphere is created from the subtle uses of this spectacular world. The effects are still stunning and are, a lot of the time, unrecognisable which is one of the biggest compliments you can give to any film. The Daniels understand the story they are telling and use their budgetary limitations to their advantage, providing a stronger emphasis on character and narrative, whilst also creating breathtaking action sequences from very little. The action here is incredible, with a lot of in-camera stunt work on display.

Overall, 'Everything, Everywhere, All At Once' is one of the best original films of the past decade. The film is anchored by an Oscar-worthy performance from Michelle Yeoh and is elevated by the expert craftsmanship of the directing duo, the Daniels. I could not recommend this film any more than I have and I am so grateful that Roadshow have given this release the 4K UHD treatment. If any film was in need of a release like this, it was Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. Be sure to head on over to your local Sanity or online to pick up your copy on DVD, Blu-Ray or 4K UHD today, you won't want to miss this one! 

Buy Everything Everywhere All At Once on DVD, Blu-ray & 4K UHD here!

Christopher Pattison wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here