Everything Everywhere All at Once is an independent film produced by A24. In less than a year, it has earned over $100 million worldwide and has also been critically acclaimed. The film’s box office success was unexpected, given that it was released in spring, unlike other major studio films, which typically premiere in prestigious fall film festivals. Nonetheless, the movie garnered 11 Oscar nominations in January, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Supporting Actor. This was unexpected for the producers, who had considered the movie a critical darling and an indie success, but not an awards blockbuster.
Feel-good stories swirled around the movie, including Ke Huy Quan’s return to acting after nearly two decades away. Then, in mid-February and early March, came a string of recognition from Hollywood: the Directors Guild of America (DGA) gave Daniels a trophy for feature directing. The Producers Guild (PGA) bestowed the film its top honor. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) showered it with awards. The Writers Guild (WGA) named Everything Everywhere Best Original Screenplay. Not to mention the Golden Globes that Yeoh and Quan picked up in January. The movie soon became a veritable frontrunner for Best Picture.
However, Jeff Yang, co-author of Rise: A Pop History of Asian America From the Nineties to Now, points out that “the only reason why they [awards] are so meaningful is because we haven’t had them in the past. But they really are this weird sense of us clutching at the hem of the Hollywood establishment.”
In early March, the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative launched the Oscars report companion to its forthcoming Inclusion List. The report revealed that 20 nominations, or 9% of all Asian nominees, were named in 2023—the highest number and percentage yet. More than half of those nominees were associated with Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Everything Everywhere is definitely Asian, paying homage to Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood For Love, Hong Kong filmmaker Stephen Chow, kung-fu, and martial arts. In fact, Yeoh’s lead character was originally conceived for Jackie Chan.
The movie is also a deeply Daniels film. Its technicolor multiverse concept originated in 2010, when Daniel Scheinert was watching Sherman’s March. The documentary’s main character meets a linguist who tells him about modal realism, the idea that all possible worlds are real in the same way as the actual world.
A maximalist movie peppered with sight gags ranging from hot dog fingers to butt plugs is, on the surface, an unlikely blockbuster. However, Everything Everywhere All at Once is a multigenerational, multilingual movie that explores themes of identity and belonging while also being a wild ride.
Storyline
Overworked Evelyn Wang is struggling to keep her laundromat afloat and salvage her failing marriage with her husband Waymond. Her relationships with her judgmental father Gong Gong and daughter Joy are also in disrepair. To add to her stress, she must meet with the impersonal IRS auditor Deirdre, who is dressed shabbily and has little patience. However, as Deirdre loses her temper, a mysterious multiverse rift appears, offering Evelyn a chance to explore parallel realities. Will she take the leap and embrace the infinite possibilities? Can she harness newfound powers to prevent an evil entity from destroying the unseen world’s countless layers? And just how many stars are in the universe?
