How to create cinema magic in the age of the cynical viewer.

This is my review of the film Everything, Everywhere, All at Once.

We all watch movies. We all consume our share of filmed media, probably more than we should. Anyone and everyone has an opinion about what makes good cinema. You might say that the viewer is cynical and critics are in every seat. That's why Everything, Everywhere, All at Once is such a refreshing change of pace. It is a touching and fun film, it offers something out of the ordinary, something unique. It is an example of what I consider a near perfect film. As I dissect it, I will use cinema lexicon so keep in mind that the aim here isn't to talk down to the reader. Rather it's meant to highlight things that we've all seen, why they matter, and how they improve the quality of the film.

In pretty much every way EEAaO is a perfect film. It's entertaining, thought provoking, takes the viewer through a breadth of emotions and themes, and does so all while maintaining a perfect balance of Spectacle and Narrative. In our age of Marvel Madness and Post-Plot Cinema, this film manages to avoid those pitfalls and give us something truly wonderful.

As far as acting, the combined talent of the cast alone is very much a win for this film. Michelle Yeoh is an absolute treasure and has been greatly underappreciated in U.S Cinema. While she's enjoyed a cult status with martial arts fans and Hong Kong cinephiles, she's largely been confined to stunt work or smaller parts in the West. Until now, and cinema is the better for it. She shines in this film like the diamond that she is.

Que Huy Quan was a lost talent in Hollywood. Due to stereotyping and type casting, Que enjoyed early success but found that in adulthood he was unable to secure any worthwhile parts in Hollywood. It made him annoyed and unable to advance his career in a meaningful ways. For a long time he left filmmaking and focused on family life. At the same he became a success overseas and mastered martial arts and more. He was a lost treasure to us, until now. EEAaO brings him back to the Hollywood cinema in a fantastic way. Not only does he underpin the rest of the casts talent with his own understated performance, he captures a diverse emotional ranges from comedic to romantic and back with aplomb. He does some incredible choreographic work but also rivets with his performance. His mix of affable and keen drew me in to his world in great ways without while weaving it in and out of the A story. Beautiful.

Aside from that Jamie Lee Curtis and the incomparable James Hong lead a supporting cast that brings the entertain performance aspect of this film to another level. Michelle Yeoh, I cannot stress this enough, deserves all of the awards she's been denied previously for this film alone, She manages to be a total badass one moment and a confused mom/wife trying to navigate a rapidly changing world seamlessly. Funny, endearing, unhinged, and everything in between, she brings a truly magnificent performance.

The filmic work, costumes, and other visual aspects to this film are superb. Pay attention to how the style of dress for Stephanie Hsu changes depending on which version of her is on screen. It's simply perfect. The outfits underscore each different aspect of her performance in ways that are award worthy, in my opinion.

The choreography is great, allowing for moments of intense action, comedy, and drama throughout. However, it's a stroke of genius that the film avoids relaying solely on stunts and jokes but segways in and out of them with ease and style. The use of familiar image is by far one of the most wonderful things about this film. The close ups on the leads face when her world's converge is in particular a brilliant choice that displays this. There's CG used but rather than being used to dominate the film it's low key and practical effects and creative narrative choices are the focus instead. The world's we visit are created more organically than what we're used to, and it really emphasizes taking the ordinary and making it something better.

The coloring in this film is luscious and vibrant, and the colorist is clearly a stand out talent. The use of different hues to enhance the emotional underpinning of the shots and spaces is unsurpassed. I challenge you to notice the differences in visual choices made in the various spaces that this film travels through. The use of blue/neutral tones in some scenes. The use of warm reds and yellows in the next. What is accomplished are subtle changes that subconsciously cue us into changes in the environment/narrative with out distracting or confusing the view. Again, It's subtle but that's what makes it so good and avoids the typically stagnant or overly synthesized sets of bigger budget productions.

The score is fantastic, the story is fresh, inventive, and engaging. It maintains classic Hollywood form as far as emotional tone but doesn't distract. There are great gags in this movie that will have you rolling. There's a solid story that is at the same time down to Earth and relatable but also gets wild and takes us into the fantastic.

This kind of magic is not easily captured and in this case I really believe that all these things make this more than just a film, it's cinema magic. I consider myself one of the hardest sells as far as satisfying media and I really couldn't find anything bad or overly critical to say about this film.

Ultimately I say that this film is rare as well as beautiful thing in this age of Mcmovies that leave us wanting more.