Everything Everywhere All at Once

Everything Everywhere All at Once is a 2022 American science fantasy comedy drama action film about a Chinese-American woman being audited by the Internal Revenue Service who is called upon to connect with parallel universe versions of herself to prevent a powerful being from causing the destruction of them all.

Written and directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert.

Evelyn Wang

I will cherish these few specks of time.

Of all the places I could be, I just want to be here with you.

Waymond Wang

You think I'm weak don't you? All of those years ago when we first fell in love, your father would say I was too sweet for my own good. Maybe he was right. You tell me it's a cruel world, and we're all 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 naive. It is 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.

Please! Please! Can we... can we just stop fighting? I know you are all fighting because you are scared and confused. I'm confused too. All day... I don't know what the heck is going on. But somehow, this feels like it's all my fault. I don't know. The only thing I do know is that we have to be kind. Please, be kind. Especially when we don't know what's going on.

So, even though you have broken my heart yet again, I wanted to say, in another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you.

Joy Wang

The universe is so much bigger than you realize.

If nothing matters, then all the pain and guilt you feel for making nothing of your life goes away.

Deirdre Beaubeirdra

Now, you may only see a pile of receipts, but I see a story. I can see where this story is going. And it does not look good. It. Does. Not. Look. Good.

Dialogue

Deirdre Beaubeirdra: Mrs. Wang, I'm sure you have a lot on your mind, but I cannot imagine anything mattering more than this conversation we are having right now about your tax liability.

Evelyn Wang: I know, I know. I am paying attention.

Deirdre Beaubeirdra: Good. Then, can you explain this? [Deidre places a receipt on the table. Evelyn looks at it]

Evelyn Wang: Well, what are we talking about?

Deirdre Beaubeirdra: I was just hoping you could enlighten me on how, as a laundromat owner, a karaoke machine would constitute as a business expense?

Evelyn Wang: I am a singer.

Deirdre Beaubeirdra: What?

Evelyn Wang: I... am... a... singer.

Deirdre Beaubeirdra: [shuffles randomly through a pile of forms] I see, and apparently you are also a novelist, a part-time teacher, a chef, a motivational speaker...

[Deirdre gestures behind her to some very suggestive-looking trophies behind her with her name on them]

Deirdre Beaubeirdra: Do you see these? You don't get one of these unless you've seen a lot of bullshit. Excuse my French. Now you may only see a pile of boring forms and numbers, but I see a story. With nothing but a stack of receipts, I can trace the ups and downs of your lives. And it does not look good. It. Does. Not. Look Good.

Waymond Wang: Sorry, my wife confuses her hobbies for businesses! An honest mistake.

Deirdre Beaubeirdra: Oh. Okay. Well, with all of these "honest mistakes", I mean, even if we don't charge you with fraud, we'll most certainly have to fine you for gross negligence.

Evelyn Wang: There is no way I am the Evelyn you are looking for.

Waymond Wang: [as Alpha Waymond] No, I see it so clearly.

Evelyn Wang: See what? I'm no good at anything.

Waymond Wang: Exactly. I've seen thousands of Evelyns, but never an Evelyn like you. You have so many goals you never finished, dreams you never followed. You're living your worst you.

Evelyn Wang: I cannot be the worst. What about the hot dog one?

Waymond Wang: No. Can't you see? Every failure here branched off into a success for another Evelyn in another life. Most people only have a few significant life alternate life paths so close to them. But you, here, you're capable of anything because you're so bad at everything.

Waymond Wang: [as Alpha Waymond] I'm sorry Evelyn — I need to go.

Evelyn Wang: What!?

Waymond Wang: I need to find the right Evelyn.

Jobu Tupaki: Every new discovery is just a reminder...

Evelyn Wang: We're all small and stupid.

Joy Wang: Mom, just stop! Good for you. You're figuring your shit out. And that's great. I'm really, really happy for you. But I'm tired. I don't want to hurt anymore. And for some reason when I'm with you, it just hurts the both of us. So let's just go our separate ways, ok? Just let me go!

Evelyn Wang: Ok. [pause] Wait. You are getting fat. And you never call me even though we have a family plan. And it's free. You only visit when you need something. And you got a tattoo and I don't care if it's supposed to represent our family. You know I hate tattoos. And of all the places I could be, why would I want to be here with you? Yes, you're right. It doesn't make sense.

Waymond Wang: Evelyn, stop. That's enough!

Joy Wang: Let her finish!

Evelyn Wang: Maybe it's like you said. Maybe there is something out there, some new discovery that will make us feel like even smaller pieces of shit. Something that explains why you still went looking for me through all of this noise. And why, no matter what, I still want to be here with you. I will always, always, want to be here with you.

[Joy starts crying]

Joy Wang: So what? You're just gonna ignore everything else? You could be anything, anywhere. Why not go somewhere where your daughter is more than just this? Here we only get a few specks of time where any of this makes any sense.

Evelyn Wang: Then I will cherish these few specks of time.

Video clip of scene at YouTube

Deirdre Beaubeirdra: Did you hear me?

Evelyn Wang: Sorry. What did you say?

Lyrics

This is a life
Free from destiny
Not only what we sow
Not only what we show

This is a light
Many lives that could've been
(Free from entropy)
Entangled for eternity

This is a Life

"This Is A Life" (official video) by Son Lux with Mitski & David Byrne

This is a life
Free from destiny
Not only what we sow
Not only what we show
This is a life
(Every possibility)
Free from destiny
(I choose you, and you choose me)
This is a light
Many lives that could've been
(Free from entropy)
Entangled for eternity
We find this life somehow alright
This is a life
Slow and sudden miracles
View of other worlds
From our window sills
With the weight of eternity
At the speed of light
This is a life
This is our life.

Quotes about Everything, Everywhere, All at Once

A movie comes along that is accompanied with massive amounts of hype. Maybe it’s a critical darling, maybe it’s a commercial blockbuster, maybe it’s something in the middle, but one thing is clear — people are singing its praises early and often. And loudly.
As a rule, these films tend to be excellent offerings, though perhaps not quite clearing the exceedingly high bar that has been set for them by the discourse. Occasionally, they prove to be something of a disappointment, leaving you wondering what so many people saw in them.
But every once in a while, you get something that actually manages to outperform your already massive expectations. You get a film that is somehow even better than the people shouting its quality from the rooftops have led you to believe. You get a movie that is unlike anything you’ve seen before in the very best of ways.
You get "Everything Everywhere All at Once."
- Allen Adams, in "Everything Everywhere All at Once a multiversal masterpiece", The Maine Edge (18 April 2022)
Before it was a narrative convenience allowing for superhero crossovers, the idea of a multiverse — parallel worlds where alternative realities play out — was seen largely in films like Sliding Doors or Back to the Future. Everything Everywhere All At Once reclaims this concept for non-spandex cinema. … It details the myriad disappointments of Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh), a Chinese-American matriarch who, she learns, represents a worst-case scenario for all of the infinite Evelyns in the multiverse. … Yet this movie’s meditations are far from somber. It owes more to The Matrix than its initial flow of family drama indicates.… Could it be 2022’s biggest word-of-mouth hit? We hope so.
- Jesse Hassenger, in "Is Everything Everywhere All At Once the year’s maddest, most exciting movie?" NME (12 April 2022)

Cast

Michelle Yeoh – Evelyn Quan Wang, a dissatisfied and overwhelmed laundromat owner
Stephanie Hsu – Joy Wang / Jobu Tupaki, Evelyn's daughter
Ke Huy Quan – Waymond Wang, Evelyn's husband
James Hong – Gong Gong, Evelyn's father
Jamie Lee Curtis – Deirdre Beaubeirdra, an IRS inspector
Tallie Medel – Becky, Joy's girlfriend
Jenny Slate – Debbie the Dog Mom (a.k.a. "Big Nose"), a laundromat customer
Harry Shum Jr. – Chad, a teppanyaki chef working alongside Evelyn in an alternate universe.

External links

Wikipedia

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Everything Everywhere All at Once