In a world where multiversal travel has become a common theme, Everything Everywhere All at Once takes a delightful spin on this recently-made mundane topic. Featuring the story of Evelyn, a Chinese American immigrant, and her family, the film explores themes of identity, self-discovery, and the interconnectedness of all things, under the facade of a family feud. 

In the film, another universe is created by every choice people make. The multiverse branches out to limitless possibilities. Yet, of all those different versions of herself, Evelyn is described as the greatest “failure.” In Evelyn’s universe, her situation has culminated into a personal crisis, being audited by the IRS, reconciling with her father after eloping twenty years ago, facing a relationship crisis with Waymond, her husband, and confronting her daughter, Joy’s lesbian relationship with a non-Chinese girlfriend. 

Her perspective crashes when the character Waymond from the Alphaverse jumps into his own body in a different universe. Alphaverse is believed to be the starting point of all the other universes. From here, the possibilities have branched out infinitely. Alphaverse is where the people first become aware of the multiverse and develop the technology to cross into their parallel-universe selves, similar to Doctor Strange’s dream walking in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” There are some limitations to the technology. They must perform a statistically unlikely action to verse-jump, often ridiculous and providing comic relief. Also, they must wait long enough for their minds to heal between jumps to avoid having their consciousness split across the multiverse. 

Jobu Tupaki, the main antagonist, is the Alphaverse version of Evelyn’s daughter, Joy. In the Alphaverse, Alpha-Evelyn had pressured Alpha-Joy to verse-jump too often, causing her mind to split across the multiverse. Jobu experiences all universes simultaneously, can verse-jump at will without the help of technology, and manipulate matter. She creates a black hole-like “everything bagel” topped with “everything,” which could destroy the multiverse. The story revolves around Jobu chasing after Evelyn, who escapes through other universes until finally confronting Jobu. 

In the confrontation, Evelyn is almost convinced to enter the void with Jobu and cease existing as she is tired from her exacerbating problems. Nihilism, symbolized by the “everything bagel,” seems the perfect way to escape without repercussions from the exhaustive problems. Yet, Waymond absurdly and humanly pleads to everyone to stop fighting and be kind even in challenging situations. Struck by his heartfelt pleas, Evelyn is convinced not to give up on herself. 

When Joy is at the brink of spiraling into despair, struggling to find any reason to live, Evelyn consoles Joy, “Even if nothing makes sense, even if I could be anywhere else in the multiverse, I’d still want to be here with you.” Perhaps these warm words were all we needed to hear in moments of despair. 

Evelyn, performed by Michelle Yeoh, won the Best Actress Award at the 2022 Oscars, or as Phil Yu, a Korean-American pop culture blogger, described, “The Academy Awards Won a Michelle Yeoh.” Although the category was one of the most contested of the night, her stellar portrayal of an immigrant mother and her enthralling choreography clearly distinguished her from other candidates. Michelle was the first woman of color after Halle Berry for Monster Ball over two decades ago. Although Yeoh’s victory was a huge celebration, it brought scrutiny to the prevalence of discrimination and stereotypes in Western media. Other than Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once swept the awards section winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor and Actress, Best Original Screenplay, and many more. 

Yeoh first burst into Hollywood in 1997 in a James Bond Film, already a famed actress in Hong Kong. However, only after a 26-year-long journey with its ups and downs would she finally win an Oscar. Her victory was all the more meaningful from someone who started her career far from the Hollywood spotlight. As Yeoh encouraged in her acceptance speech, “Ladies, don’t let anybody tell you you are ever past your prime; never give up.” 

Whether for its heartfelt message or enthralling action, Everything Everywhere All at Once is a must-watch film of 2023.