A few days ago I went to the movies with my friends to see the Daniel’s new film, Everything Everywhere All at Once. I was a bit weary of the movie because for the past week or so my for you page on TikTok had been filled with videos from other people who had seen the movie and left in shock, with tears streaming down their faces.
I was certain these videos had to be a bit of an overreaction, but sure enough about halfway through the movie the tears started coming and they did not stop.
Everything Everywhere All at Once follows Evelyn, an aging Chinese woman who owns a family laundromat, as she fights to stop interdimensional forces from destroying the multiverse, all while dealing with her failing marriage and strained relationship with her daughter.
This movie is weird. There’s black hole bagels, hot dog fingers, and sentient rocks. With all its absurdity and humor, the movie gets to the heart of its central issue: nothing really matters. But the movie doesn’t stop there.
The last hour of the film examines different reactions and approaches humans have to nihilism. We can choose to give up to the chaos and decide we don’t care what happens. As the film points out in its villain Joy, this reaction only hurts us and the people we love. The second option is fighting with kindness, which Evelyn’s husband Waymond exemplifies. This is where the tears started for me. The final thesis of the film is the choice to hold on to the people we love the best we can, it’s trying even though we will always hurt the people we love, we still have to try.
This movie destroyed me in ways I didn’t even know were possible. Everything Everywhere All at Once is a cinematic masterpiece, sure to become a classic in the industry.