Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is an exhausted Chinese-American immigrant who runs a failing laundromat with her kind-hearted husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan). Their marriage is strained, her relationship with her lesbian daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) is fractured, her demanding father Gong Gong (James Hong) has just arrived from China, and the family faces an IRS audit conducted by the unforgiving agent Deirdre Beaubeirdre (Jamie Lee Curtis). As they sit in Deirdre's office, Evelyn's life is suddenly upended when an alternate version of her husband, "Alpha Waymond," temporarily takes over his body.
Alpha Waymond reveals that the multiverse—infinite parallel universes containing different versions of themselves—is real, and that it's being threatened by Jobu Tupaki, an omnipotent being who has created a black hole-like "everything bagel" that could destroy all existence. He explains that Evelyn is uniquely positioned to stop Jobu because her many failures have made her the "worst possible version" of herself, leaving untapped potential to access skills from her alternate lives. As Alpha Waymond teaches Evelyn "verse-jumping"—the ability to access other versions of herself across the multiverse—she discovers lives where she became a movie star, a chef, a sign spinner, a blind opera singer, and even a woman with hot dogs for fingers who's in a relationship with Deirdre.
As Evelyn battles enemies across multiple realities using newly acquired skills ranging from martial arts to sign spinning, she gradually discovers that Jobu Tupaki is actually an alternate version of her daughter Joy. In a universe where Evelyn pushed her daughter too hard to reach her potential, Joy's mind fractured after being forced to verse-jump too many times, turning her into Jobu Tupaki—a nihilistic being who can experience all universes simultaneously and has concluded that nothing matters. The everything bagel represents Jobu's desire to end the pain of existence by destroying everything. Throughout increasingly chaotic confrontations across bizarre universes, Evelyn begins to succumb to the same nihilism, until a crucial emotional breakthrough helps her find meaning in the face of infinite possibilities and reconnect with her family across the multiverse.
At its philosophical core, Everything Everywhere All at Once grapples with existential nihilism—the idea that life has no inherent meaning or purpose—through the lens of multiverse theory. The film's genius lies in how it uses the concept of infinite parallel universes not just as a plot device for spectacular action sequences, but as a framework for exploring profound existential questions. If every possible choice creates a different universe, does any single choice matter? If infinite versions of ourselves exist, making every possible decision, what significance do our individual lives hold?
Jobu Tupaki's "everything bagel" serves as the perfect visual metaphor for nihilism: a black hole containing everything that exists, which paradoxically reveals the meaninglessness of it all. As Jobu explains, "When you really put everything on a bagel, it becomes this. Nothing...a hole where everything is pointless." This reflects philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of the "eternal return" and the potential despair that comes from cosmic awareness of infinite possibilities.
The film doesn't merely present nihilism as a philosophical position; it embodies it through cinematic form. The increasingly chaotic structure, absurdist humor, and deliberate sensory overload mirror Jobu's fractured experience of perceiving all universes simultaneously. This formal nihilism risks overwhelming the viewer just as it overwhelms Evelyn, making the philosophical journey experiential rather than merely intellectual.
Yet the film ultimately rejects pure nihilism in favor of existentialist response—the notion that even in an objectively meaningless universe, we can create subjective meaning through our choices and connections. Evelyn's climactic realization that "In another life, I would have really liked doing laundry and taxes with you" represents the existentialist victory: choosing to find value in mundane existence not despite the infinite possibilities, but because of them. This reflects philosopher Albert Camus' concept that we must "imagine Sisyphus happy" in his endless task—finding joy not in achieving some grand cosmic purpose, but in embracing life's absurdity with compassion and presence.
Beneath its sci-fi trappings, Everything Everywhere All at Once provides one of cinema's most nuanced explorations of immigrant family dynamics and generational trauma. The film centers specifically on the Chinese-American immigrant experience while making it universally resonant. Evelyn's character embodies the complex pressures facing many immigrants: the haunting "what-ifs" of paths not taken in their home countries, the struggle to meet parental expectations while raising children with different cultural values, and the exhausting navigation of systems designed without them in mind (symbolized by the labyrinthine IRS bureaucracy).
The film explores how trauma can transmit across generations, with Gong Gong's disapproval of Waymond being internalized by Evelyn, who then projects similar expectations onto Joy. This cycle creates what psychologists call "intergenerational trauma," where emotional patterns repeat across family lines. The multiverse conceit allows this theme to be explored literally, showing how different choices might have broken these patterns—while also suggesting that some version of these family dynamics plays out across all possible realities.
Particularly poignant is the film's examination of LGBTQ+ acceptance in immigrant families through Joy's storyline. Her mother's inability to fully embrace her sexuality and her relationship becomes both a specific cultural conflict and a universal metaphor for the struggle between traditional values and modern identities. The film doesn't villainize Evelyn for her difficulties; instead, it compassionately shows how her own traumatic experiences inform her limitations as a parent.
The resolution of this theme comes not through some dramatic moment of perfect understanding, but through small gestures of acceptance: Evelyn introducing Joy's girlfriend to Gong Gong not as a "good friend" but as "her girlfriend," and the simple act of following Joy into the parking lot rather than letting her walk away. These moments suggest that healing generational trauma doesn't require grand gestures or perfect solutions—just consistent small choices to break harmful patterns.
The Daniels' approach to visual storytelling represents a paradigm shift in how multiple genres and tones can be integrated within a single narrative. The film functions simultaneously as martial arts spectacle, family drama, science fiction adventure, absurdist comedy, and existential meditation without any of these elements feeling discordant. This genre hybridization isn't merely stylistic experimentation but serves the thematic exploration of fragmented identity and the infinite possibilities of existence.
The film's visual language evolves throughout its runtime, mirroring Evelyn's expanding consciousness. It begins with constrained, claustrophobic framing in the laundromat and IRS office, using a restricted color palette and conventional editing rhythms. As Evelyn accesses more universes, the cinematography becomes increasingly fluid, the color saturation intensifies, and the editing accelerates to create a sensory experience that captures her overwhelming state of "verse-jumping."
Particularly innovative is how the film uses specific visual techniques to represent different universes: the glamorous movie star timeline employs lush cinematography reminiscent of Wong Kar-wai films; the hot dog fingers universe uses soft focus and romantic lighting typical of melodrama; the animated universe utilizes simple 2D techniques; while the rock universe communicates entirely through static shots and text overlays. Each universe has its distinct visual grammar that communicates not just a different reality but a different way of experiencing reality.
The film's approach to action choreography combines technical precision with conceptual innovation. Rather than merely showcasing spectacular martial arts (though it certainly does), the fight sequences advance character development by physically manifesting Evelyn's internal conflicts. The choreography incorporates everyday objects from Evelyn's laundromat life—clothes, receipt spinners, sex toys—transforming the mundane into the extraordinary in ways that reinforce the film's themes about finding wonder in ordinary existence.
Released during a period when multiverse narratives were becoming increasingly common in mainstream entertainment (particularly in superhero films), Everything Everywhere All at Once radically reinvents this storytelling device. While most multiverse stories use parallel realities primarily for spectacle or to explore "what if" scenarios with established characters, the Daniels employ the concept as a metaphysical framework for examining universal human experiences of regret, possibility, and choice.
The film's innovation lies partly in how it conceptualizes verse-jumping through mundane, often absurdist actions (paper cuts, eating chapstick, declaring bizarre truths) rather than high-tech devices. This approach democratizes the multiverse concept, making it less about superhuman characters and more about ordinary people accessing extraordinary potential. It also creates a uniquely kinetic visual language where the physical comedy of these actions contrasts with their cosmic significance.
Unlike many multiverse narratives that treat alternative timelines as separate stories, Everything Everywhere All at Once insists on their interconnection. Every universe Evelyn experiences informs her understanding of herself and her relationships in her home reality. This approach avoids the potential emotional detachment that can come with multiverse storytelling (where stakes feel lowered because "other versions" still exist) by maintaining that emotional growth must occur across all versions of a character to be meaningful.
Perhaps most subversively, the film ultimately suggests that the most heroic choice within a multiverse framework isn't to become the most powerful or successful version of oneself, but rather to fully embrace one's actual life with all its limitations and seemingly insignificant moments. This runs counter to the power fantasies that often drive multiverse narratives, positioning radical acceptance rather than exceptional achievement as the true goal.
Everything Everywhere All at Once has already secured its place as a watershed moment in contemporary cinema, demonstrating that formally experimental, conceptually complex films can achieve both critical acclaim and commercial success even without franchise connections. Its record-breaking seven Academy Award wins (the most for any Best Picture winner since Slumdog Millionaire) included historic firsts: Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian Best Actress winner, while the film marked the first science fiction work to win Best Picture.
The film's impact on representation in Hollywood extends beyond these statistical achievements. It has been celebrated for centering middle-aged Asian immigrant characters not as supporting players or cultural stereotypes, but as multidimensional protagonists capable of driving high-concept narratives. Particularly notable is how it revitalized the careers of actors who had been marginalized by the industry—Michelle Yeoh finally receiving a leading role worthy of her talents after decades in Hollywood, Ke Huy Quan returning to acting after leaving the profession due to limited opportunities for Asian actors, and Jamie Lee Curtis winning her first Oscar at age 64.
Commercially, the film demonstrated the viability of original, audacious storytelling in a market dominated by franchises and familiar intellectual property. With its $25 million budget yielding a $140 million box office return, it became A24's highest-grossing film and suggested an audience hunger for innovative narrative experiences that balance intellectual ambition with emotional authenticity. This success has potentially opened doors for other filmmakers with unconventional visions who might previously have struggled to secure funding.
Stylistically, the film's boundary-pushing approach to genre hybridization, visual storytelling, and tonal shifts is likely to influence a generation of filmmakers. Its demonstration that a single film can seamlessly integrate martial arts action, philosophical depth, absurdist comedy, and family drama without compromising any element challenges conventional wisdom about genre constraints and audience expectations. The Daniels' maximalist aesthetic—incorporating everything from Wong Kar-wai homages to googly-eyed rocks to dildo fight scenes—suggests new possibilities for cinematic expression that refuses easy categorization.
Most profoundly, Everything Everywhere All at Once arrived at a cultural moment marked by widespread anxiety, division, and digital oversaturation that mirrors the film's themes of overwhelming possibilities and meaning-making in chaos. Its message that kindness and connection remain possible even in the face of cosmic meaninglessness resonated deeply with post-pandemic audiences searching for emotional anchors in uncertain times. The film's successful navigation of nihilism without succumbing to either despair or facile optimism offers a template for how art can engage with existential challenges while still affirming human dignity and relationships.
Breaking down the pivotal moments that define the film's narrative and thematic impact.
The film's opening sequence in the Wang family laundromat establishes both the mundane reality that will ground the multiversal chaos and the subtle dysfunctions in the family relationships. Through naturalistic cinematography and overlapping dialogue, the Daniels create a sense of claustrophobia and overwhelming responsibility that defines Evelyn's existence. The rotating camera movements as she attempts to simultaneously manage taxes, laundry, customer needs, her father's arrival, and party preparations visually establish her being pulled in multiple directions even before the multiverse concept is introduced.
This sequence subtly foreshadows the film's themes through visual storytelling: the repetitive cycles of washing machines mirror the cyclical nature of family patterns and multiversal iterations; the cluttered space filled with unsorted items reflects Evelyn's fragmented identity; and the constant interruptions establish the pattern of never being able to complete a thought or action that characterizes Evelyn's unfulfilled potential. By grounding viewers in this hyper-realistic setting, the film earns the spectacular departures that follow while ensuring they remain emotionally tethered to Evelyn's core struggles.
The sequence where Alpha Waymond first demonstrates verse-jumping to Evelyn in the elevator marks the film's transition from mundane family drama to multiversal adventure. The scene's genius lies in how it communicates complex sci-fi concepts through emotionally resonant visual storytelling rather than exposition. As Alpha Waymond instructs Evelyn to perform increasingly bizarre actions to access alternate universe skills, her confusion and resistance mirror the audience's initial disorientation, creating an immersive entry point into the film's high-concept premise.
The choreography of this sequence establishes the film's unique action language, where seemingly absurd movements have cosmic significance. The stark contrast between the bureaucratic blandness of the IRS building and the sudden martial arts capabilities Evelyn accesses creates both comic relief and genuine wonder. Most importantly, this scene introduces the film's core visual metaphor: that extraordinary possibilities exist within ordinary people and places, accessible through disruption of normal patterns. The elevator setting itself symbolizes transition between levels—a perfect environment for Evelyn's first movement between realities.
Jobu Tupaki's revelation of the "everything bagel" represents the film's philosophical climax. The sequence begins with spectacular visual effects as Jobu demonstrates her ability to experience all universes simultaneously, then shifts to a startlingly intimate conversation between mother and daughter. The bagel itself—a black hole containing everything that exists, which paradoxically reveals the emptiness of it all—provides a striking visual metaphor for nihilism that's both conceptually profound and absurdly accessible.
This scene's power derives from how it transforms the film's genre from action-comedy to existential drama without tonal whiplash. As Jobu explains the bagel's significance, Stephanie Hsu's performance shifts from manic antagonist to vulnerable daughter, revealing that the cosmic threat and the family conflict are ultimately the same story. The sequence features the film's most direct philosophical dialogue ("When you really put everything on a bagel, it becomes nothing") while keeping it grounded in the emotional truth of a daughter trying to make her mother understand her pain. This fusion of abstract concept and personal emotion exemplifies the film's unique approach to making metaphysics deeply human.
The sequence where Evelyn and Joy exist as rocks in a barren universe represents the film's most audacious formal experiment and its emotional turning point. After the sensory overload of the preceding action sequences, the scene shifts to near stillness: two rocks on a cliff with occasional text appearing onscreen to represent their thoughts. This radical deceleration creates a meditative space for both characters and audience, demonstrating the Daniels' confidence in their storytelling and willingness to interrupt their film's frenetic pace for emotional resonance.
The scene's formal minimalism allows the emotional weight of the mother-daughter relationship to emerge with extraordinary clarity. Through the simplest means possible—static shots and text—the film articulates both Joy's nihilistic despair ("Just leave me here. We can just be rocks for a moment.") and Evelyn's emerging existentialist response ("I'll always want to be here with you."). The universe where nothing happens becomes, paradoxically, where the most important emotional development occurs. This inversion perfectly captures the film's thesis that meaning isn't found in spectacular achievements or excitement, but in the choice to remain present with those we love, even when—especially when—nothing is happening.
Alpha Waymond's monologue about kindness during the climactic confrontation provides the film's moral centerpiece. After nearly two hours of spectacular action and existential philosophy, the film pauses for a genuinely heartfelt declaration of its ethical worldview. Ke Huy Quan's delivery—vulnerable, earnest, and devoid of irony despite the chaos surrounding him—creates a disarming sincerity that cuts through the film's layers of absurdism and spectacle.
What makes this scene remarkable is how it positions kindness not as naive optimism but as radical resistance to nihilism. Waymond's assertion that "This is how I fight" reframes kindness as an active choice rather than passive acceptance, suggesting that in a multiverse of infinite possibilities, deliberately choosing compassion rather than combat becomes the truly radical act. The visual composition—Waymond standing unprotected amidst potential violence—physically embodies this philosophy. This scene transforms what could have been a conventional action climax into a deeply moving argument for empathy as the ultimate response to existential crisis.
The film's epilogue, returning to the IRS office where everything began, demonstrates masterful narrative circularity while showing how profoundly the characters have been transformed by their journey. The scene mirrors the opening in setting and participants but with subtle differences that reveal emotional growth: Evelyn introduces Joy's girlfriend properly rather than hiding their relationship; Waymond takes initiative in the tax situation; Evelyn shows patience with Deirdre; and the family moves together rather than in fragmented directions.
What makes this sequence particularly effective is its deliberate mundanity after the spectacular multiverse adventure. The film's choice to conclude with tax paperwork rather than cosmic resolution reinforces its central argument that everyday life—with its bureaucratic frustrations and family tensions—is where meaningful existence ultimately happens. The final shot of the family exiting together, with Evelyn momentarily distracted by glimpses of other lives but returning her attention to her actual family, perfectly encapsulates the film's thesis: awareness of infinite possibilities doesn't diminish our current reality but can deepen our appreciation for it.
Examining the technical elements that create the film's distinctive aesthetic and atmosphere.
Cinematographer Larkin Seiple's work on Everything Everywhere All at Once represents a masterclass in using visual language to support narrative and thematic development. The film employs at least seven distinct cinematographic approaches corresponding to different universes, each with its own color palette, lighting style, aspect ratio, and camera movement patterns. This technical versatility creates not just visual variety but meaningful contrast between realities.
In the primary "laundromat universe," Seiple employs a naturalistic, almost documentary-style approach with handheld camera work and practical lighting that grounds the fantastical elements in emotional reality. This contrasts sharply with the glamorous, saturated cinematography of the "movie star universe," which references Wong Kar-wai films through lush colors, step-printing effects, and expressionistic lighting. The "hot dog fingers universe" uses soft focus and dreamy lighting reminiscent of romantic melodramas, while the "teppanyaki universe" features more stylized framing and precise camera movements.
As Evelyn gains greater multiverse awareness, the visual language evolves to reflect her expanding consciousness. Early verse-jumping is depicted through jarring cuts and disorienting camera movements, while later sequences feature more fluid transitions between universes, suggesting Evelyn's growing mastery. The climactic scenes employ split-screen techniques, kaleidoscopic effects, and rapid montage to create a visual representation of experiencing multiple realities simultaneously.
The film's use of aspect ratios as narrative tools is particularly innovative. Shifts between widescreen, academy ratio, and even vertical phone-style framing aren't merely stylistic choices but communicate different modes of perception across universes. This technical approach transforms aspect ratio—usually a fixed formal decision—into a dynamic storytelling element that evolves with the character's journey.
The experimental music trio Son Lux created one of cinema's most ambitious original scores for Everything Everywhere All at Once, producing over two hours of music that spans genres as diverse as the film's multiverse. Like the cinematography, the score employs distinct musical languages for different universes while maintaining thematic coherence across the narrative. The laundromat reality features minimalist piano and strings, the kung fu sequences incorporate traditional Chinese instruments with electronic elements, and the Wong Kar-wai-inspired scenes reference the lush strings of that director's films.
Particularly effective is the score's integration of noise elements and unconventional sonorities to represent the chaos of verse-jumping. Distorted percussion, processed vocal samples, and abrupt transitions between musical styles create a disorienting effect that puts viewers inside Evelyn's fragmented experience. The balance between these experimental elements and more conventional emotional themes (particularly the delicate piano motif associated with Evelyn and Waymond's relationship) mirrors the film's blend of avant-garde concept and accessible emotional core.
The sound design works in perfect concert with the music, using spatial audio techniques to represent the multiverse concept. Sound elements from one universe often bleed into another before the visual transition occurs, creating a sensory foreshadowing effect. During verse-jumping sequences, the sound design uses rapid channel switching, frequency modulation, and reverse effects to create the auditory sensation of consciousness moving between realities.
Perhaps most innovative is how the film occasionally drops to near silence at crucial emotional moments—particularly in the rock universe sequence—creating powerful contrast with the surrounding sensory maximalism. These moments of auditory restraint function as emotional anchors amid the chaos, allowing viewers to process the philosophical themes without distraction.
The film's production design, led by Jason Kisvarday, represents a triumph of creative problem-solving within budget constraints. Rather than relying on expensive CGI for its multiverse concept, the film creates distinct realities through practical set design, costume elements, and in-camera techniques. The laundromat setting itself becomes a character through its meticulous detailing—every receipt, laundry basket, and posted notice contributes to the sense of overwhelming routine that defines Evelyn's life before her multiverse adventure.
Each alternate universe features thoughtfully designed visual motifs that communicate its rules and emotional tone. The IRS building's bureaucratic blandness with its fluorescent lighting and beige walls creates the perfect contrast for the chaos that unfolds within it. The "hot dog universe" uses practical prosthetics rather than digital effects for the characters' transformed hands, lending tactile reality to an absurd concept. The "raccacoonie universe" employs puppetry techniques that deliberately reference the film's low-budget nature rather than hiding it.
When digital visual effects are employed, they serve specific narrative purposes rather than spectacle for its own sake. The "everything bagel" visualization creates a mesmerizing representation of nihilism through relatively simple particle effects. The multiversal fragmentation of characters during the climactic confrontation uses digital techniques to visually represent psychological states—Jobu Tupaki's constantly shifting appearance reflects her fractured consciousness experiencing all possibilities simultaneously.
The film's embrace of analog techniques and handmade elements—particularly its recurring motif of googly eyes—reinforces its thematic interest in finding meaning in imperfection. Rather than aiming for seamless digital perfection, the production design celebrates visible seams, unexpected combinations, and creative repurposing of everyday objects. This aesthetic approach perfectly complements the film's philosophical argument that beauty and meaning emerge from embracing rather than transcending the messiness of existence.
Exploring how the film engages with broader cultural conversations and philosophical ideas.
Everything Everywhere All at Once represents a watershed moment in Asian-American cinema, offering representation that transcends typical Hollywood limitations. Unlike many mainstream films featuring Asian characters, it centers a middle-aged Chinese-American immigrant woman not as an exotic other or cultural stereotype, but as a complex protagonist through whom universal themes are explored. The film presents Chinese-American identity as neither incidental background nor solely defining characteristic, but as a specific lived experience that shapes Evelyn's perspective while never limiting her narrative to cultural issues alone.
The film's approach to language particularly demonstrates its nuanced cultural perspective. Characters move fluidly between English, Mandarin, and Cantonese—often mid-sentence—without subtitles or explanation, reflecting the authentic linguistic experience of many immigrant families. This code-switching isn't presented as foreign or alienating but as the natural communication style of multilingual Americans.
The film addresses specific Chinese-American cultural tensions—particularly intergenerational conflicts around tradition, success, and family obligation—while making them resonant for broader audiences. Issues like Evelyn's struggle to tell her father about Joy's sexuality are portrayed with cultural specificity while connecting to universal family dynamics. Through this approach, the film avoids both the exoticizing "ethnic film" trope and the erasure of cultural identity that often characterizes Hollywood's approach to diversity.
The casting itself makes powerful statements about Asian representation in Hollywood. Michelle Yeoh finally receiving a leading role that showcases her full range after decades of supporting parts; Ke Huy Quan returning to acting after leaving the profession due to limited opportunities; and James Hong appearing in a significant role at age 93 after a career spanning over 600 credits mostly in minor roles—these casting choices themselves tell a story about Hollywood's historical treatment of Asian talent and the possibility of change.
Though set in a fantastical multiverse rather than our digital landscape, the film powerfully captures contemporary anxieties about information overload and fragmented attention in the social media age. Evelyn's experience of being pulled between infinite realities mirrors the modern condition of constant notifications, endless scrolling, and the nagging sense that better possibilities always exist elsewhere. Her initial disorientation and eventual embracing of multiplicity offers a metaphorical framework for navigating our own fractured digital existence.
The film's maximalist aesthetic—with its rapid cuts, sensory overload, and bizarre juxtapositions—deliberately evokes the experience of internet culture. References ranging from Wong Kar-wai films to Ratatouille to 2001: A Space Odyssey appear without hierarchical distinction, mirroring how digital spaces flatten cultural contexts. Even the film's title reflects the overwhelming nature of contemporary information consumption: everything (all content), everywhere (across multiple platforms), all at once (in a constant stream).
Jobu Tupaki's ability to experience all universes simultaneously—rendering her both all-powerful and nihilistic—reflects fears about what unlimited access to information might do to human consciousness. Her condition can be read as a metaphorical "extremely online" state, where constant exposure to every possibility leads not to enlightenment but to emotional numbness. Against this digital nihilism, the film posits Waymond's philosophy of attentiveness and kindness—a deliberate focus on immediate human connection rather than infinite possibilities.
The film's ultimate message—that meaning comes from choosing to be present in one reality despite awareness of alternatives—offers a philosophical response to digital age attention fragmentation. Evelyn's final ability to both perceive multiple universes while remaining grounded in her primary reality suggests a path toward digital mindfulness: acknowledging the vast possibilities technology offers while consciously choosing where to invest our limited attention and care.
The film addresses LGBTQ+ identity and acceptance through Joy's character and her relationship with her girlfriend Becky. Rather than treating this as a separate "issue" storyline, the film integrates Joy's queerness into the broader themes of generational difference, cultural conflict, and the struggle for unconditional love. This integration avoids the common pitfall of reducing LGBTQ+ characters to their identity alone while still acknowledging the specific challenges they face.
Particularly nuanced is the film's portrayal of Evelyn's complex response to her daughter's sexuality. Rather than presenting a simplistic binary of acceptance versus rejection, it shows her conflicted feelings—wanting to protect Joy from discrimination, struggling with cultural and generational differences in understanding sexuality, and her own difficulty fully expressing love without conditions. This portrayal acknowledges the reality that acceptance often comes through a process rather than an immediate switch in perspective.
The multiverse concept allows the film to explore queer themes beyond just Joy's storyline. The "hot dog fingers" universe, where Evelyn and Deirdre are lovers, presents a queer relationship without exoticizing or fetishizing it. Instead, this universe becomes one of the film's most tender spaces, where the emotional climax of accepting imperfect love occurs. The film's general theme that identities are fluid across universes rather than fixed also resonates with queer theory concepts about the socially constructed nature of identity categories.
The film's resolution of this theme—Evelyn introducing Becky to her father as Joy's girlfriend rather than her "good friend"—is particularly powerful because of its understated nature. This small moment of courage represents significant growth for Evelyn while acknowledging that acceptance isn't always demonstrated through grand gestures but through the accumulated weight of small choices to overcome fear and choose love.
Released as the world was emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, the film resonated powerfully with audiences experiencing collective existential recalibration. The pandemic forced global confrontation with mortality, isolation, and questions about what gives life meaning when normal routines are disrupted—themes that the film explores through its multiverse framework. Evelyn's journey from being overwhelmed by chaos to finding meaning through conscious presence paralleled many viewers' pandemic experiences.
The film's central visual metaphor—the "everything bagel" representing simultaneous awareness of all existence leading to nihilistic despair—captured a specific cultural moment when unlimited information about global suffering (through constant news cycles and social media) created widespread emotional numbing. Jobu Tupaki's conclusion that "nothing matters" resonated with pandemic-era burnout and compassion fatigue, while the film's response—Waymond's insistence that kindness remains valuable even without cosmic justification—offered an emotional lifeline.
The laundromat setting itself, with its cycles of cleaning and renewal, provided a powerful metaphor for pandemic-era reassessment of what constitutes essential work and meaningful contribution. Evelyn's initial dissatisfaction with her mundane life followed by her ultimate embrace of its value reflected many people's pandemic recalibration from career ambition toward appreciation of basic human connection and daily rituals.
Perhaps most resonant for post-pandemic audiences was the film's underlying message that pain and joy are inextricably connected—that to numb oneself to suffering is to also block the capacity for love and wonder. After a period when many people felt emotionally deadened by prolonged stress and isolation, the film's climactic affirmation that vulnerability remains worthwhile despite inevitable pain offered a cathartic emotional release that contributed to its remarkable word-of-mouth success.
Films with similar themes, style, or impact for fans of the Daniels' multiverse masterpiece.
The Wachowskis' groundbreaking sci-fi action film similarly combines martial arts spectacle with profound philosophical questions about reality and consciousness, featuring an ordinary protagonist who discovers extraordinary abilities while challenging existential systems.
Read more
The Daniels' debut feature similarly balances absurdist humor with profound emotional sincerity, using a seemingly ridiculous premise (a man befriending a flatulent corpse) to explore themes of connection, shame, and finding meaning in a seemingly meaningless existence.
Read more
Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman's surrealist romance shares EEAAO's emotional depth beneath high-concept science fiction, using memory erasure instead of multiverses to explore how pain and joy are inextricably connected in meaningful relationships.
Read more
Lulu Wang's poignant family drama explores similar themes of Chinese-American identity, intergenerational relationships, and cultural disconnection through a more grounded, intimate approach focused on a family's decision to hide a cancer diagnosis from their grandmother.
Read moreUnderstanding the visionary filmmaking duo behind Everything Everywhere All at Once
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as "The Daniels," represent one of contemporary cinema's most distinctive and innovative directorial voices. The duo met as film students at Emerson College and began their career creating music videos and short films characterized by their distinctive blend of surrealism, practical effects, and emotional sincerity. Their early work included viral videos like DJ Snake and Lil Jon's "Turn Down for What" (2013) and Manchester Orchestra's "Simple Math" (2011), which established their reputation for combining technical innovation with subversive humor.
Their feature directorial debut, "Swiss Army Man" (2016), starred Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe (as a sentient corpse) in a surrealist comedy-drama that polarized audiences at Sundance but established the Daniels' unique filmmaking approach. The film demonstrated their ability to find emotional depth in absurdist premises and their commitment to practical effects over CGI—qualities that would later define "Everything Everywhere All at Once."
The Daniels' directorial style is characterized by several distinctive elements: a maximalist visual approach that embraces sensory overload; a seamless integration of practical effects and digital techniques; a willingness to blend seemingly incompatible tones and genres; and a recurring interest in finding profound meaning within deliberately ridiculous concepts. Their work consistently balances technical virtuosity with emotional vulnerability, using spectacular visual techniques to explore intimate human experiences.
Thematically, their films explore existential questions about meaning and purpose in a seemingly random universe, the fragility of human connection, and the tension between societal expectations and authentic self-expression. Both "Swiss Army Man" and "Everything Everywhere All at Once" suggest that embracing absurdity and rejecting conventional notions of dignity can lead to more meaningful existence—a philosophy reflected in the Daniels' own approach to filmmaking, which rejects pretension in favor of emotionally honest engagement with even the most ridiculous concepts.
With "Everything Everywhere All at Once" winning seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, the Daniels have moved from indie darlings to mainstream recognition without compromising their distinctive creative vision. Their success represents a validation of risk-taking, genre-defying filmmaking at the highest levels of the industry, potentially opening doors for other boundary-pushing directors.
Explore The Daniels' FilmographyThe making of Everything Everywhere All at Once and production insights
The Daniels began developing Everything Everywhere All at Once in 2016, shortly after completing "Swiss Army Man." The original concept centered around a man discovering multiverse travel after being hit by a car—inspired by Daniel Kwan's fascination with quantum physics videos on YouTube. After several script iterations, the directors shifted their focus to an immigrant mother character, believing this would ground the fantastic elements in more emotionally resonant stakes.
The film was initially developed with Jackie Chan in mind for the lead role, with the story focused on a father character. When Chan proved unavailable, the Daniels reconceived the project around Michelle Yeoh, transforming the protagonist to Evelyn and reshaping the narrative to explore mother-daughter dynamics. This gender shift profoundly transformed the film's themes and approach, with the directors crediting this "failure" in casting as a creative breakthrough that improved the project.
Despite the film's ambitious scope, it was produced on a relatively modest $25 million budget—far less than typical multiverse spectacles from major studios. This financial constraint became a creative advantage, forcing the Daniels to rely on practical effects, rapid shooting schedules, and creative problem-solving rather than elaborate CGI. The entire film was shot in just 38 days in Southern California, primarily in the San Fernando Valley, with the laundromat location serving as the production's anchor.
The production's approach to creating multiple universes relied heavily on costume changes, lighting adjustments, and in-camera techniques rather than elaborate set construction or post-production effects. This practical approach not only accommodated the budget constraints but aligned with the Daniels' preference for tangible, physical filmmaking over digital abstraction. Many of the film's most memorable visual moments—like the hot dog fingers or googly eyes—were achieved through practical prosthetics and props.
Despite its modest budget compared to studio blockbusters, Everything Everywhere All at Once contains over 500 visual effects shots. The Daniels worked with five different VFX companies, coordinating their efforts to maintain consistency across the film's wildly diverse visual approaches. Rather than attempting photorealistic CGI, the film embraces a deliberately handmade aesthetic that incorporates visible seams and imperfections as part of its charm.
The "everything bagel" effect—a black hole-like void that serves as the film's central visual metaphor—was created using relatively simple particle effects rather than complex simulation. This approach allowed the directors to achieve a visually striking result while keeping costs manageable. Similarly, the universe-hopping transitions were accomplished through a combination of practical lighting changes, in-camera techniques, and targeted digital effects rather than elaborate CGI environments.
One of the production's most significant technical challenges was choreographing and shooting the complex martial arts sequences, particularly given the tight schedule and budget. The directors worked closely with martial arts coordinator Timothy Eulich to design fight scenes that could be captured efficiently while showcasing Michelle Yeoh's considerable skills and incorporating the film's absurdist humor. Many sequences were shot with minimal rehearsal time, relying on the cast's preparation and the team's careful planning to achieve complex choreography within time constraints.
Post-production presented unique challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with much of the editing, sound design, and visual effects work completed remotely during lockdown. The Daniels have credited this unexpected isolation with allowing them more time to refine the edit than might have been possible under normal production circumstances, particularly given the film's complex narrative structure and the need to balance its many tonal shifts.
Michelle Yeoh's central performance required her to portray dozens of variations of Evelyn across different universes, often shifting between them within single scenes. Beyond the technical challenge of these rapid transitions, Yeoh faced the emotional task of making each version distinct while maintaining the core character's through-line. She has described using different physical postures and vocal patterns to quickly establish each variant, while focusing on the emotional constants that connect them all.
Ke Huy Quan's return to acting after a 20-year hiatus represents one of Hollywood's most remarkable comebacks. Having stepped away from performing due to limited opportunities for Asian actors, Quan was inspired to return by the success of "Crazy Rich Asians" (which also starred Yeoh). His performance as Waymond required him to portray three distinct versions of the character: the meek laundromat owner, the confident Alpha universe fighter, and the romantic Hong Kong cinema version. Quan trained extensively in martial arts for the role, learning multiple styles to distinguish between the fighting approaches of different Waymond variants.
Stephanie Hsu, relatively unknown before her breakthrough performance as Joy/Jobu Tupaki, faced the film's most demanding role in terms of performance range. The character required her to shift between vulnerable daughter and all-powerful multiversal entity, sometimes within the same scene, while wearing elaborate costumes and makeup. Hsu has described finding emotional grounding in the mother-daughter relationship beneath the character's spectacular manifestations, ensuring that Jobu's cosmic nihilism remained connected to Joy's very human pain.
Jamie Lee Curtis transformed physically for her role as IRS inspector Deirdre, deliberately avoiding glamour in favor of a look she described as "no concession to vanity." Curtis has spoken about how liberating this approach was, allowing her to focus entirely on character rather than appearance. Her willingness to embrace the film's most absurd elements—particularly in the hot dog fingers universe—exemplifies the cast's collective commitment to the Daniels' vision, with established stars abandoning ego in service of the film's creative ambition.
How Everything Everywhere All at Once was received by critics and audiences
Everything Everywhere All at Once received extraordinary critical acclaim upon its release, earning a 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 81/100 on Metacritic. Reviews consistently praised the film's originality, emotional depth, and technical innovation, with many critics calling it a genre-defying masterpiece that transcended conventional categorization. The performances, particularly Michelle Yeoh's lead role and Ke Huy Quan's comeback, received universal praise across reviews.
Critics particularly celebrated the film's ability to balance seemingly contradictory elements: philosophical depth with absurdist humor, spectacular action with intimate family drama, and cultural specificity with universal themes. Many noted how the film's multiverse concept functioned both as entertaining science fiction and as profound metaphor for immigrant experiences, generational trauma, and existential angst.
The film's award season dominance culminated in seven Academy Awards from eleven nominations, including the historic Best Picture win for A24 (the first independent studio to win the top prize). Michelle Yeoh's Best Actress win marked the first for an Asian performer in the category, while Ke Huy Quan's Supporting Actor victory represented one of Hollywood's most celebrated comebacks. The film's sweep of major categories (Picture, Director, Screenplay, Editing, and three acting awards) represented unprecedented recognition for a genre-bending science fiction film.
The minority of critical dissent primarily focused on the film's frenetic pacing and maximalist approach, with some reviewers finding it overwhelming or exhausting. Some critics also questioned whether the film's tonal shifts between sincerity and absurdism undermined its emotional impact. However, even most negative reviews acknowledged the film's technical achievements and performances, primarily objecting to stylistic choices rather than execution.
Released initially in just ten theaters before expanding, Everything Everywhere All at Once demonstrated remarkable staying power at the box office, eventually grossing $140 million worldwide against its $25 million budget. This performance made it A24's highest-grossing film ever and represented extraordinary success for an original, R-rated sci-fi film without franchise connections. Its domestic performance was particularly notable, with unprecedented week-to-week holds indicating powerful word-of-mouth appeal.
Audience response proved even more enthusiastic than critical reception, with the film achieving cult status almost immediately upon release. Social media platforms saw an explosion of fan art, memes, and emotional testimonials about the film's impact. Particularly notable was the film's resonance with multiple demographic groups that rarely receive mainstream Hollywood representation: Asian Americans, LGBTQ+ viewers, and multiracial families reported feeling seen in specific, meaningful ways by the film's portrayal of their experiences.
The film's theatrical success demonstrated a hunger for original, ambitious filmmaking that balances artistic innovation with emotional accessibility. Its release coincided with increasing audience fatigue regarding franchise filmmaking, with many viewers and commentators explicitly celebrating its success as a victory for original storytelling in an increasingly IP-driven marketplace. The passionate audience embrace contributed directly to the film's award season momentum, creating a narrative of genuine cultural impact that resonated with industry voters.
Particularly noteworthy was the generational diversity of the film's audience. While A24 films typically attract primarily younger viewers, Everything Everywhere All at Once drew significant numbers of older audiences as well—likely responding to its mature protagonists and themes of family legacy. This broad demographic appeal contributed to its theatrical longevity and suggested the potential for original filmmaking to reach across generational divides.
Strengths: Revolutionary genre hybridization, emotional core beneath spectacular concept, stellar performances across the cast, innovative visual storytelling, profound philosophical themes made accessible, cultural specificity that enhances universal resonance.
Weaknesses: Some viewers may find the maximalist approach overwhelming, occasional reliance on scatological humor, middle section pacing issues during rapid multiverse exposition.
Everything Everywhere All at Once represents a landmark achievement in contemporary cinema—a film that pushes boundaries of genre, form, and representation while maintaining profound emotional resonance and accessibility. Its unprecedented fusion of absurdist comedy, martial arts action, science fiction concept, and family drama creates something genuinely new in film language while addressing timeless human concerns about purpose, connection, and meaning-making in a chaotic existence.
"A bona fide breakthrough for Asian representation in Hollywood...but what makes it truly special...is how it tells a moving immigrant story about generational trauma and healing through its sci-fi adventure."
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times
"The filmmakers stuff their movie with absurd gags, like fanny-pack kung fu fighting and hot-dog fingers, but they're built atop a deeper inquiry into the meaning of life and the nature of the multiverse."
—A.O. Scott, The New York Times
"It's messy and it's glorious. Like existence, I guess."
—David Fear, Rolling Stone
"The greatest argument ever made to not pay your taxes, go to therapy, and be nice to people."
—Clarisse Loughrey, Independent
Representation Impact: Opened doors for Asian-American stories and talent in Hollywood, proving commercially viable
Genre Evolution: Demonstrated audience appetite for original high-concept stories outside franchise structures
Technical Innovation: Showed how budget constraints can inspire creative solutions rather than limiting vision
Philosophical Resonance: Brought complex existentialist concepts into mainstream conversation through accessible storytelling
Industry Influence: Historic Oscar sweep legitimized genre-bending approach and independent studios at the highest levels of recognition