Everything Everywhere All at Once

 Year:  2022

Directors:  Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert

Screenplay: Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert

Starring:  Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Jenny Slate, Harry Shum Jr., James Hong, Jamie Lee Curtis

Running Time:  139 minutes

Genre:  Science-fiction, action, comedy

Evelyn Wang (Yeoh) is having a very bad day.  The laundromat she runs with her husband, Waymond (Quan), is struggling; her elderly father Gong Gong (Hong) who has effectively disowned her has arrived from China to be cared for by Evelyn and her family; she has a difficult relationship with her daughter, Joy (Hsu); and Waymond is trying to serve her with divorce papers.  To make matters worse, they are being audited by the IRS and have an appointment with severe auditor Deirdre Beaubeirdra (Curtis).  The last thing Evelyn needs is to learn that she has to connect with multiple alternate versions of herself from parallel universes in order to defeat a powerful force which threatens to destroy all of the infinite realities.

This film is a wild, unpredictable mix of genres and styles, taking in family drama, science-fiction, martial arts action and surreal comedy.  The result is one of the most imaginative, vibrant, and funniest films to come along in a very long time.  The basic concept is that for every decision that is made, the alternative outcome is played out in a parallel universe.  Through a technique called "verse jumping" which involves a special portable headset and performing a completely improbable action an individual can connect to their counterpart in a particular parallel universe that has the skills or abilities that they want to access.  In this way Evelyn is treated to glimpses of her life if she had made different choices, such as ending up as a skilled martial artist, a famous film star, a chef and more bizarre realities including one where humans have hot dogs instead of fingers, and one where she ends up as a rock.  Michelle Yeoh is great in the lead role and convincingly depict Evelyn's change from stressed and unhappy wife, mother and business owner, to action hero; Ke Huy Quan, who is possibly best known as a child actor in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and The Goonies (1985), is affecting as Evelyn's gentle and goofy husband; Stephanie Hsu is good as Evelyn and Waymond's troubled daughter and Jamie Lee Curtis gives a great comic performance as the tough IRS investigator.  In all the film's wildness and goofiness it doesn't lose sight of the more serious issues such as Evelyn's inability to accept the fact that her daughter is gay and has a girlfriend, and the importance of accepting people as they are and not how we may want them to be. Evelyn is someone who has had endless dreams and hopes but has abandoned them thanks to cruel reality, and now seems to see life itself as something of a miserable chore, but when she opens herself to the limitless possibilities, the experience is both frightening but ultimately liberating for her. The film also examines themes of Chinese-American cultural identity and existential despair.  The film is surprisingly emotional, and by the end is genuinely moving.  While at times it can be overwhelming, even with the generous run time of two hours and twenty minutes it seems to shoot past at breakneck speed with little pause for breath, this is one of the best films that I have seen in a very long time.

Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once

 

Hotel Artemis

Year of Release:  2018
Director:  Drew Pearce
Screenplay:  Drew Pearce
Starring:  Jodie Foster, Stirling K. Brown, Sofia Boutella, Jeff Goldblum, Brian Tyree Henry, Jenny Slate, Zachary Quinto, Charlie Day, Dave Bautista
Running Time:  94 minutes
Genre: Action, science-fiction, crime

Los Angeles, 2028:  A full-scale citywide riot is in progress over the cost of privatised water.  Under cover of the riot a small crew try, unsuccessfully, to rob a bank.  During the escape, brothers Sherman (Brown) and Lev (Henry) are injured; Lev very seriously.  They go to the Hotel Artemis, a combination hotel and hospital that only treats criminals, run for 22 years by the Nurse (Foster) according to a strict set of rules, with assistant / enforcer Everest (Bautista).  Also in the hotel are racist, misogynist arms dealer Acapulco (Day) and contract killer Nice (Boutella).  The Nurse receives word that crime boss The Wolf King (Goldblum), who owns most of Los Angeles (including the Artemis), is on his way for emergency treatment.  Meanwhile the Nurse takes a huge risk, breaking her own rules to help cop Morgan (Slate), who has a connection to her past.

This is a stylish action, crime-thriller with futuristic overtones and a top-drawer cast.  Set almost entirely in the confines of the hotel, which looks like a decaying Old-Hollywood palace. Jodie Foster turns in a typically strong performance as the vulnerable but strong nurse, Jeff Goldblum has a lot of fun with a comparatively small role, and Sofia Boutella is memorable as the seductive, acrobatic killer.  Stirling K. Brown anchors the film as the essentially decent robber who will do anything to save his brother.  With the hotel given to frequent power outages, characters are often shown in shadowy pools of golden light and occasionally bathed in neon neon and bright red emergency lighting.  We are given glimpses of the nightmare world outside in the news bulletins the characters watch and the frequent explosions in the distance.  There are brief impressions of the world outside Los Angeles (a character talks about taking a chopper "south, over the Wall").  This is not a wall-to wall action film, it is more of a thriller, but when the action comes it is well-staged by debuting director Dave Pearce, and exciting.  The story has few surprises and, despite the big-name cast it looks like quite a low-budget film, but it is a lot of fun, and could become quite a cult film in years to come.

Stirling K. Brown and Sofia Boutella check in to Hotel Artemis