Working, Taking Care of a Family, and Saving the Multiverse

Stephanie Hsu, Michelle Yeoh, and 
Ke Huy Quan in "Everything Everywhere
All at Once"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

The concept of multiverses is something that’s been in pop culture for a while, particularly in Marvel and DC comics, but it seems to have come to the forefront with their many film and television adaptations over the years.  Nowadays, given the numerous shared universes there have been in entertainment, it’s become annoying of how everything seems like it needs to connect to everything else, with several movies and seasons of television shows abandoning self-contained stories in favor of building towards one thing and then another.

We now have a depiction of the multiverse that feels so, so out-of-the-box, thanks to the unrestrained vision of writers-directors Dan Kwan and Dan Scheinert in their science-fiction dark comedy, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” a film that not only brims with gleeful insanity and an abundance of emotion, but one that will also have your head spinning with the endless possibilities.

Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is a woman in the middle of being audited by the IRS.  When she discovers that she has the ability to exist in many universes, she must use that power to defeat an evil that threatens to destroy them.

Yeoh delivers an outstanding performance that balances the heavy drama of the scenes with her family and the craziness of the sequences involving the multiverse.  Once Evelyn becomes acquainted with the multiverse, Yeoh shows complete dedication to the bonkers nature of the scenario as Evelyn becomes accustomed to the wacky logic of the multiverse and takes charge of her life in a whole new way.  Outside of the scenes in the multiverse, we see the stress that her character exhibits in her day-to-day routine, worrying about her business and family and trying to keep everything together.  While it’s fun to see Yeoh let loose in the wildness of the other universes, the sequences in which her character has to deal with her personal issues are some of the finest and most powerful in the movie.

Ke Huy Quan, who portrays Evelyn’s husband, Waymond, shows total commitment to presenting the different sides of his character as he switches between the Waymond that Evelyn knows and the other version of him that tries to warn her about the impending danger.  The dexterity with which he’s able to switch from one side of his character to another makes Quan a magnetic and charismatic presence.  Aside from the save-the-world urgency from the multiverse version of his character, Quan also excels in showing the emotional depth of the version of himself that’s Evelyn’s husband, displaying a sadness of knowing that their relationship may be at an unsalvageable point.  

Stephanie Hsu, who plays Evelyn’s daughter, Joy, offers a heartrending performance as a young woman who doesn’t feel as though she can live up to what her mother expects from her, having to hide her true self and keep her emotions bottled in.  However, it’s in her character’s multiverse versions where we see someone who’s the total opposite of who we see in the beginning, and the way in which Hsu digs into this portion of her role allows you to feel even more for her character as the movie goes on, strengthening the sympathy that you already had for her.

The screenplay by Kwan and Scheinert maintains total control over the unwieldy and ambitious narrative.  As they tell us the rules of how the multiverse works, we’re left to wonder how these rules will play out, and this aspect never disappoints.  The fascinating traits of the many universes to which we’re introduced invest us in an adventure where anything can happen. As the script does this, it takes the “chosen one” narrative and charges it with a manic energy that gives this kind of story a new life, a thrilling reinvigoration that promises unpredictably from the start.

In such expert fashion, Kwan and Scheinert emphasize the themes of the movie in both the main universe and the other universes.  And, despite the humor and vastness of the sci-fi scope, the poignant themes are never diluted. We’re given terrific details into Evelyn’s family and the tension that occurs amongst her, her husband, her father, and her daughter.  With themes of familial expectations, wondering what could have been, and the concept of what does and doesn’t matter in life, the drama is just as complex as the roadmap of how the multiverse operates.  The many universes into which we venture not only deliver on a rip-roaring entertainment aspect, but they each tie into the deeper themes of the story and highlight what’s going on in the minds of the characters.

Even though Kwan and Scheinert work with a low budget, it’s eye-opening to see what they’re able to accomplish with it.  The visual effects are astounding and emphasize the confidence that this directing duo has in their unrestrained vision, throwing us into the many environments that come at us one after the other.  The cinematography by Larkin Seiple (who collaborated with Kwan and Scheinert on their 2016 debut feature, “Swiss Army Man”) utilizes different aspect ratios as we go between the universes, while the editing by Paul Rogers keeps up with the fast-paced nature of this helter-skelter sci-fi roller coaster.  The extended fight sequences are vibrantly choreographed, ramping up the excitement even further and unfurling in dynamic, unforgettable fashion.  Kwan and Scheinert fill their movies with so many I-can’t-believe-what-I’m seeing moments that it’s impossible to guess what you’ll see next.  Watching this movie is similar to what it felt like seeing writer-director Boots Riley’s 2018 dark comedy, “Sorry to Bother You,” for the first time, where you have a rising filmmaker sweep you up in their uninhibited creativity. It’s a case of never knowing what you’re in for, but just strapping yourself in for whatever might happen.

When it comes to experiencing the astonishing inventiveness of Kwan and Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is everything for which you could have hoped.

Grade: A

One Famous Summer, a Young Boy Gets to Shoot for the Moon

Milo Coy voices Stanley in 
"Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

Two of the most notable aspects of writer-director Richard Linklater’s movies are their sense of nostalgia and their setting in his home state of Texas.  When he constructs a story around these factors, he creates a view into this part of America that means so much to him and provides us with stories that give us genuine characters.  With a mix of realistic people and relatable narratives, Linklater has shown himself to be a filmmaker who has a strong sense of time, place, and people when he brings all of that to life.  We’ve seen these aspects at their strongest in “Dazed and Confused,” “Boyhood,” and “Everybody Wants Some.”

He does this once again in his animated film, “10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood,” a warm and humorous coming-of-age story that’s rooted in Linklater’s moviemaking sensibilities.

In the summer of 1969, Stanley (Milo Coy), a boy growing up in Houston, Texas, is recruited for a preliminary mission to the moon.  Meanwhile, the rest of the his hometown and NASA finalize their preparations for the Apollo 11 mission that would change history. 

The whole movie is told through the perspective of an older Stanley, who’s voiced by Jack Black.  With the voice-over narration taking up most of the spoken words in the film, all of it comes down to him to help us become invested in the character.  It works because Black provides his character with a tone of someone reminiscing fondly over his past and inviting the viewer to take part in these trips through his cherished memories.

Although Black does a terrific job with the narration, the one downside is that Linklater’s screenplay could have used a little less of it and let the characters speak for themselves.  But, you eventually give yourself over to the way this story is being told, going from one aspect of Stanley’s life to another, offering a loving tribute of his home in Texas.  We’re given a view into the joy of his day-to-day life as he spends time with family and friends, gets into mischief at school, and ventures throughout his town to enjoy what it has to offer.  The main character opens up his life to you, and you’re given many details as to what made it so special to him.

Just like what Linklater did with his films “Waking Life” and “A Scanner Darkly,” he employs the rotoscope technique of animation, filming scenes in live-action, and then animating them in post-production.  This type of animation fits beautifully with the story it’s telling because you have the sort-of live-action look of the characters, the realness of which helps to emphasize the historic events of the Apollo 11 mission, while the animation connects well with the sense of imagination that Stanley displays, as well as the childhood fun that he experiences.  Through all of this, Linklater offers an abundance of 1960s-era details that absorb us in the setting and connects us with the memories with which Stanley regales us.

As it provides a view into the past with people looking towards the future, “Apollo 10 1/2” is another wonderful movie from Linklater that highlights small-town individuals with big dreams.

Grade: A-

On His Birthday Weekend, a Man Finds That His Friends Aren’t the Same

From left: Georgina Campbell, Graham Dickson,
Tom Stourton, Antonia Clarke, and 
Joshua McGuire in "All My Friends Hate Me"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com

While getting together with friends is fun, the act of reconnecting to ones whom you haven’t seen in a while may feel a tad awkward.  You’ve been out of each other’s lives for a while, so you all might not know what’s going on in one another’s personal life, social life, or professional life.  It can feel strange in trying to reestablish a bond because you don’t know whether those bonds are as strong as before.  However, what do you do when you see them after an extended period of time, but it feels like they’re all against you?

This is the stressful situation in which the main character finds himself in director Andrew Gaynord’s dark-comedy, “All My Friends Hate Me,” in which he delivers an anxiety-inducing scenario that unfolds with fine doses of paranoia and uncomfortable wit.

Upon returning to England after doing volunteer work abroad, Pete (Tom Stourton) spends his birthday weekend at his friend George’s (Joshua McGuire) mansion.  Also included in the festivities is Pete’s ex-girlfriend friend Claire (Antonia Clarke), his friend and George's wife Fig (Georgina Campbell), his other friend Archie (Graham Dickson), and a new acquaintance named Harry (Dustin Demri-Burns).  What starts out as a relaxing weekend soon turns disquieting as Pete realizes that his friends are treating him differently, and he thinks Harry might have something to do with it.

Stourton provides a terrific performance as a man who feels less and less at ease as his birthday weekend unfurls.  He’s able to exhibit the uncertainty that he begins to experience around his friends, not knowing what he’s done wrong to make them act the way they’re acting.  Stourton encapsulates the agitation of having people turn against Pete and being hit with a loneliness he didn’t expect to hit him.  However, Stourton occasionally displays a little trait or two here and there where we can slowly start to understand why his friends may be acting this way.  Stourton makes you feel sympathy for him, while also giving you bits of insight into where his friends could be getting their dislike for him.  During the anxious chemistry between Pete and his friends, McGuire, Clarke, Campbell, Hodgson, Dickson, and Demri-Burns all play their parts with unnerving personas as they find their own ways to make Pete feel unwanted.  

Although the screenplay from Stourton and Tom Palmer might be a tad repetitive at times with the friends being nice to and then being mean to Pete, it nevertheless keeps you guessing as to what everything is leading towards.  Right from the first night of the reunion, you’re waiting for the first shoe to drop and show what comment or action will be the catalyst of this unsettling weekend.  From there, the way in which the story has these characters interact keeps their dynamics building as the tension threatens to boil over with each uncomfortable scene.  

As a director, Gaynord’s able to construct tense scenarios that make us squirm with their awkwardness.  Every character confrontation, be it between two people or several, adds another layer to the mystery of their animosity towards Pete.  And, despite the slight repetitive rhythm of going from one strange confrontation to the next, there’s still the tension of learning new information bit by bit as the apprehensive atmosphere is kept alive and the dislike for Pete continues to pile on.

“All My Friends Hate Me” is a blackly funny reminder of how, depending on where your life goes, those who were once familiar to you may seem less so as time goes on.

Grade: A-