Some of the most important ingredients needed to make a film possible are passion, determination and craft- but most importantly it takes an immeasurable amount of CREATIVITY! If it's one thing I've learned with seeing films from both A24 and The Daniels, creativity is a quality neither are short of when it comes to displaying it out to the world. With all that being said the latest venture from The Daniels, Everything Everywhere All at Once, is one of the most extraordinary and pleasantly psychotic pieces of entertainment I've ever seen on the silver screen!!! This film fires on all cylinders when it comes to displaying the abundant amount of originality and creativity behind its premise, which I something you don't see very often in movies today. It's a real rarity when finding films of this nature that not only succeeds in whacky & absurd entertainment (being action or what not), but also finding the time to deliver a meaningful & and complex story that you're unlikely to forget anytime soon.
Based on my observations from previous Daniels' productions, I came to expect the usual quirks and weirdness with their brand of humor but never did I expect for it to effectively blossom as it did on such a large scale. Tagging alongside the humor, there is a great amount of heart and feeling to further increase your emotional intake as you truly do feel just about 'everything'. The Daniels have found such a creative & moving method to demonstrate a vast array of emotions, which never feels like it will teeter too far in one direction. An immeasurable sense of fun stays with you all the way through- that's a feeling I rarely get to experience in such a consistent manner where it lingers onward after the screening. An experience like this one has managed to carefully and cleverly infuse so many emotions to feel when watching EEAAO, which can be easily trace back to the craftsmanship of this film's directing duo. All the plethora of feelings to experience here are attributed by the amazing direction & writing from Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who allowed themselves to let their creative juices flow so openly and freely. Perhaps the only gripe I would have is that a few minutes could have been shaved off, which may not seem like a major deal at first but at times a few minutes more or less in a film can make a huge difference. As I've mentioned before, the majority of the time (practically 100%) I enjoyed myself during the screening, but it did feel ever-so-slightly longer than it needed to be. For me this was a very minor dent in the overall experience but it was not enough to damage the massive enjoyment and thrill ride this film was.
With this film still being more of an indie flick, you would think there'd more limitations as to what they are able to do here, yet the production teams utilize what's available to them and more in order to create the wild spectacle presented to you. Both practical and special effects are demonstrated throughout the film, which is a quality that may go unappreciated at first but later on you could look back it and applaud for what these filmmakers had to work with. Budgets and finances for a film of this type don't usually happen often, but for the instance of EEAAO the money was used adequately across all areas whether it be production design, costumes, visual effects or sound. As an audience member, it's a great feeling when you see filmmakers like The Daniels who seemed to have used their film's budget wisely without making it look like they deliberately cut corners to save a few bucks. It's a discouraging feeling to go see a movie nowadays and you see a blatantly incomplete product right in front of you, especially, when you see the big price tag attached to the film. In the case of EEAAO, it looks like every dollar was spent accordingly and it feels as complete as it a film should be when you see it in a theater. On both the narrative and technical levels, a film of this nature finds itself in a cozy little spot to fully display its colors in the upmost confidence without damaging itself by means of nonsensicalness & outlandishness.
Besides the filmmakers and rest of the crew, a cast makes up the other majority of creativity power behind a film. And this cast... is OUTSTANDING!!! We have here a lively and energetic group of performers that give their everything in terms of delivering dimensional performances, plus the energy behind their performances shows just how much fun they seemed to have tremendous fun while making this film. Michelle Yeoh & Ke Huy Quan are the major standouts among this cast, but it wouldn't be fair to not mention performances from Stephanie Hsu & Jamie Lee Curtis who also give some notable performances. The leading lady herself, Michele Yeoh, truly shines as an actress with her continuously impressive physicality and emotional range with a character like Evelyn Wang. Making leaps and bounds across the multiverse, Yeoh seamlessly jumps between comedic and dramatic moments with each of those showing her 110% devotion to those moments. Alongside Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan makes an explosive return to the silver screen as an optimistic hearted and fun-loving character that serves as so much of the soul among the whole cast. As to the antagonist here, Stephanie Hsu's Joy Wang acts as a good clashing figure to go up against Michele Yeoh's Evelyn. Joy's character is complicated and emotionally resonating as someone simply wanting to be accepted and loved while understanding the craziness of the multiverse, which Hsu does exceedingly well. Plus it's amazing to seeing actresses Michele Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis being given the opportunity to play characters like these at their ages and show off just how badass they can be.
Creating something like EEAAO is a once in a lifetime kind of film where you get a meaningful and humorous story as well as a wildly entertaining spectacle that brings nothing but fun to all who watch it. A24 has done it once again as a studio known for creating new and original pieces that truly standout among the mass collective of films coming out every year. The Daniels have placed themselves in a special place in people's consciousness as filmmakers that will surely blow their minds with the unexpected and wildly creative imagination to come out of any two people's brains. It's an exciting opportunity to see cast of this caliber and creative vision this distinctive to shine as bright as it has in this very cluttered world.
Based on my observations from previous Daniels' productions, I came to expect the usual quirks and weirdness with their brand of humor but never did I expect for it to effectively blossom as it did on such a large scale. Tagging alongside the humor, there is a great amount of heart and feeling to further increase your emotional intake as you truly do feel just about 'everything'. The Daniels have found such a creative & moving method to demonstrate a vast array of emotions, which never feels like it will teeter too far in one direction. An immeasurable sense of fun stays with you all the way through- that's a feeling I rarely get to experience in such a consistent manner where it lingers onward after the screening. An experience like this one has managed to carefully and cleverly infuse so many emotions to feel when watching EEAAO, which can be easily trace back to the craftsmanship of this film's directing duo. All the plethora of feelings to experience here are attributed by the amazing direction & writing from Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who allowed themselves to let their creative juices flow so openly and freely. Perhaps the only gripe I would have is that a few minutes could have been shaved off, which may not seem like a major deal at first but at times a few minutes more or less in a film can make a huge difference. As I've mentioned before, the majority of the time (practically 100%) I enjoyed myself during the screening, but it did feel ever-so-slightly longer than it needed to be. For me this was a very minor dent in the overall experience but it was not enough to damage the massive enjoyment and thrill ride this film was.
With this film still being more of an indie flick, you would think there'd more limitations as to what they are able to do here, yet the production teams utilize what's available to them and more in order to create the wild spectacle presented to you. Both practical and special effects are demonstrated throughout the film, which is a quality that may go unappreciated at first but later on you could look back it and applaud for what these filmmakers had to work with. Budgets and finances for a film of this type don't usually happen often, but for the instance of EEAAO the money was used adequately across all areas whether it be production design, costumes, visual effects or sound. As an audience member, it's a great feeling when you see filmmakers like The Daniels who seemed to have used their film's budget wisely without making it look like they deliberately cut corners to save a few bucks. It's a discouraging feeling to go see a movie nowadays and you see a blatantly incomplete product right in front of you, especially, when you see the big price tag attached to the film. In the case of EEAAO, it looks like every dollar was spent accordingly and it feels as complete as it a film should be when you see it in a theater. On both the narrative and technical levels, a film of this nature finds itself in a cozy little spot to fully display its colors in the upmost confidence without damaging itself by means of nonsensicalness & outlandishness.
Besides the filmmakers and rest of the crew, a cast makes up the other majority of creativity power behind a film. And this cast... is OUTSTANDING!!! We have here a lively and energetic group of performers that give their everything in terms of delivering dimensional performances, plus the energy behind their performances shows just how much fun they seemed to have tremendous fun while making this film. Michelle Yeoh & Ke Huy Quan are the major standouts among this cast, but it wouldn't be fair to not mention performances from Stephanie Hsu & Jamie Lee Curtis who also give some notable performances. The leading lady herself, Michele Yeoh, truly shines as an actress with her continuously impressive physicality and emotional range with a character like Evelyn Wang. Making leaps and bounds across the multiverse, Yeoh seamlessly jumps between comedic and dramatic moments with each of those showing her 110% devotion to those moments. Alongside Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan makes an explosive return to the silver screen as an optimistic hearted and fun-loving character that serves as so much of the soul among the whole cast. As to the antagonist here, Stephanie Hsu's Joy Wang acts as a good clashing figure to go up against Michele Yeoh's Evelyn. Joy's character is complicated and emotionally resonating as someone simply wanting to be accepted and loved while understanding the craziness of the multiverse, which Hsu does exceedingly well. Plus it's amazing to seeing actresses Michele Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis being given the opportunity to play characters like these at their ages and show off just how badass they can be.
Creating something like EEAAO is a once in a lifetime kind of film where you get a meaningful and humorous story as well as a wildly entertaining spectacle that brings nothing but fun to all who watch it. A24 has done it once again as a studio known for creating new and original pieces that truly standout among the mass collective of films coming out every year. The Daniels have placed themselves in a special place in people's consciousness as filmmakers that will surely blow their minds with the unexpected and wildly creative imagination to come out of any two people's brains. It's an exciting opportunity to see cast of this caliber and creative vision this distinctive to shine as bright as it has in this very cluttered world.