Everything Everywhere All at Once by the Daniels [10/10]

“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the hugely idiosyncratic creation of the Daniels (Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), is a riot of invention, emotion, cinematography, and something unique that only movies can offer. Michelle Yeoh triumphs in the hugely demanding role of Evelyn, burnt-out, crabby owner of a laundromat, who is thrust into the role of saving all the universes of a world of many, through a series of escalating fantabulous adventures. The key support actors of Stephanie Hsu (Evelyn’s daughter Joy), Ke Huy Quan (husband Waymond), and Jamie Lee Curtis (a tax collector among other roles) are also superb. The way-out-there plotline is massively smart and ambitious, the cinematography is sublime, the action scenes scorch typical Marvel/Disney pyrotechnics, and the attention to detail is woozily fabulous. Not a moment of the running time of two-and-a-quarter hours feels slow or too fast. All in all, Everything Everywhere All at Once is not something I can recommend to many around me, with their circumscribed palates, but for me it is hands down the most powerful, intelligent film of this year. At its core, it addresses the issues we existentialists exult in and fret about every day. And so many scenes are laugh-out-loud funny but, even when theoretically stooopid, are delivered respectfully. Cinematically unique, something I cannot process yet but will do so over repeated viewings, it vies for 2022’s crown.