Several A24 movies premiered at the SXSW film festival this month, amongst them wasEverything Everywhere All At Once. Unlike the other movies (Bodies Bodies BodiesandX) which are both horrors,Everything Everywhere All At Onceis a sci-fi, but not the first from A24 who produced theOscar-winning AI thrillerEx-Machina, and critically-acclaimedThe Lobster.
Starring Michelle Yeoh, A24’s newest sci-fi comes from the crazed creators ofSwiss Army Manand is a trippy journey through the multiverse. First reviews ofEverything Everywhere All At Onceare glowing, with critics praising the movie’s originality and outstanding performances; and following the success ofAfter Yang— A24’s most recent sci-fi — many can’t wait to see it for themselves. From the cast and crew ofEverything Everywhere All At Once, to its impressive soundtrack, here is everything you need to know about the movie: spoiler-free.
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The Directors
Everything Everywhere All at Onceis written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Schienert, collectively known as Daniels. The filmmaking duo is known for their music videos — including DJ Snake and Lil Jon’s “Turn Down For What” — and their 2016 adventure comedy movieSwiss Army Man(colloquially known as thefarting corpse movie). Also distributed by A24,Swiss Army Manstars Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe as Hank and Manny.
Lost an island, Hank is about to attempt suicide when he spots Manny, a corpse, washed ashore. Hank befriends Manny and the two embark on strange, often hilarious, adventures. The movie was a critical success, receiving twoIndependent Spirit Awardsnominations and winning the Sundance Directing Award.
The Plot
Unsurprisingly, Daniels' second feature film together is just as bizarre as their first.Everything Everywhere All at Oncehad its world premiere at SXSW on March 11 and, according to reviews, the surreal sci-fi is as chaotic as its title and trailer suggest. A story about family as much as it isabout the multiverse,Everything Everywhere All at Oncefollows stressed-out laundromat manager and matriarchEvelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) who must use her skills from across the multiverse to save the world — and do her taxes.
The action-packed trailer forEverything Everywhere All at Oncesees Evelyn become a master chef, movie star,kung fu disciple, and more, as her husband and daughter adopt alter egos too. These scenes of universe-hopping and fighting off attackers are intercut with heartfelt interactions between Evelyn and her family that look to ground the movie.
The Cast
Malaysian actressMichelle Yeohplays the lead role of Evelyn Wang inEverything Everywhere All at Once. Yeoh, whose career spans multiple decades, has starred in many movies (Memoirs of a Geisha,Guardians of the Galaxy 2,Crazy Rich Asians), but is best known for her roles in the James Bond movieTomorrow Never Dies,and the Oscar-winning martial arts epicCrouching Tiger,Hidden Dragonin which she performed her own stunts. Stephanie Hsu stars as Joy, Yeoh’s on-screen queer daughter who is distant from Evelyn. Hsu and Yeoh co-starred together inShang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings, though she is most recognizable as Mei Lin in seasons 3 and 4 ofThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Joining them inEverything Everywhere All at OnceisKe Huy Quan who plays Evelyn’s husband, and Joy’s father, Waymond. Like Yeoh, Quan also starred inCrazy Rich Asiansand is best known for his roles inThe GooniesandIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Other cast members include James Hong (Big Trouble in Little China) as Evelyn’s father, Jenny Slate (Obvious Child) as a rude laundromat customer, and Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween) as IRS inspector Deirdre. Press surroundingEverything Everywhere All at Oncehas focused onCurtis' transformationas slovenly Deirdre, as the actress refused prosthetics for a more authentic portrayal.
The Soundtrack
Everything Everywhere All at Oncehas animpressive 49-track soundtrackscored by American experimental band Son Lux. Artists featured on the album include Talking Heads' David Byrne, Indie musician Mitski, and rapper André 3000, who appear together on the single “This Is a Life.” Randy Newman, Moses Sumney, and many more also lend their talents.
Music can make or break a movie, and in A24’s case, it tends to be the former. From20th Century Women’sfantastic post-punk soundtrack — featuring the likes of Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Raincoats, and Suicide — toLady Bird’snostalgic 2000 hits, A24 rarely misses. The same goes for their TV productions, namelyEuphoria. Many viewers agree the teen drama series wouldn’t be the same without Labrinth’s haunting, psychedelic score.
Everything Everywhere All At Oncewill be in theaters on March 25th.
