Everything Everywhere All at Once 2022

Non spoiler thoughts (summary): A wildly creative and emotionally grounded multiverse story that turns chaos into a metaphor for family, regret, and connection. Beneath the absurd humor and nonstop genre switching is a very human story about an overwhelmed parent trying to stay present in a life that feels like it is slipping in every direction. ⚠️ Spoilers ahead. From here on, plot details are discussed. Read on if you’ve seen the film. If not, save this post and come back after. ⚠️ Chaotic start. Audit, divorce, father’s party, daughter introducing her girlfriend, customer service, broken ventilation. It already sets the tone and justifies the title. Everything is happening at the same time and I immediately feel how overwhelmed Evelyn is, like life is attacking her from all directions before the sci-fi even begins. Great musical score, cinematography, and grading. It adds to the beautiful chaotic mess and I can really feel the A24 DNA, weirdly out of this world ideas placed into something emotionally grounded. First time I watched this, it honestly felt like a bootleg Multiverse of Madness because I was not yet accustomed to this kind of cinema language, but on rewatch I realized the visual effects work because they are combined with in camera footage so the insanity still feels tactile and real. Ang hirap ng unang struggle nya. Fate of the multiverse or the disallowance of her tax deductions? That joke works because it is true to her character. She is not a chosen one, she is a tired immigrant mom whose biggest fear at that moment is still the IRS. About the wardrobe, Evelyn wearing a red jacket reminds me of Back to the Future, and I love the subtle changes in aspect ratio because it visually tells me which reality we are in without explaining it verbally. I also get Ben 10 vibes, choosing which version of herself is appropriate against an enemy, mixed with Inception style jumping between layers. Jobu feels like Thanos using the reality stone on Knowhere and the film even recreates the 2001 Space Odyssey ape scene. All of these references could have been distracting but here they become part of the language of the multiverse, like every genre and era of cinema exists simultaneously. This is action, comedy, drama, and romance thrown into one bowl. Underneath all the absurdity it feels like a story about depression, the fear of not mattering, regrets about decisions, and the lack of connection between parent and child because we are everywhere mentally and emotionally, all over the place, so we fail to be present with the people in front of us. The effect becomes generational trauma passed down. It also plays like a midlife crisis, realizing it might be too late and nothing worked the way you imagined. The action spectacle becomes a manifestation of her internal panic rather than just entertainment, and that is why the performances from the main cast and the stunt choreography hit harder emotionally. It is trippy and needs a lot of brain cells to unpack, but I sometimes feel the amount of action masks the real message. For me it could have been shorter so the emotional core lands earlier and gives more room to deepen it instead of constantly escalating the chaos. You know sometimes I also feel like I am not inside my own body, like I am observing myself instead of living in the moment. That kind of disassociation connects strongly to Evelyn because she literally lives different versions of her life and none of them feel fully hers. The multiverse becomes a visual representation of being mentally absent, where every possibility exists except the ability to simply stay present. As a parent this film reminded me not to take my kids for granted no matter how busy life gets or how much they disobey. Do not disown them and do not let them drift away emotionally. Always reach out and choose to stay with them even in the most ordinary moments, because those ordinary moments are the only reality that truly matters.