MAJESTIC, MASTERFUL, MAGNIFICENT MULTIVERSE: a review of "Everything Everywhere All At Once"

 

"EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE"
Written, Produced and Directed by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
**** (four stars)
RATED R

Now, THAT'S a multiverse!!!! 

For much of the duration of Savage Cinema, I have lamented the increasing presence of sequels, prequels, remakes, franchises and re-imaginings at the full expense of essentially any other movies that could be made...and most importantly, the kinds of films that truly stand out as the type of one-pf-a-kind experience that signals the arrival of a fresh filmmaking voice who ultimately deliered an experience unlike anything we have seen before. 

These days, if a filmmaker is not of the name recognition level as Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson, Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino, Edgar Wright or most recently, Jordan Peele--actual filmmakers who can open a film based solely upon their own names--the likelihood of their films even receiving a theatrical release are increasingly unstable. Face it, we are living in a time when Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee need to go to streaming services to finance new works and Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story" (2021), his best film in nearly 15 years, bombs at the box office, what chance do newer voices even have in this landscape to even try get their cinematic voices heard?

With the arrival and now, the huge success of "Everything Everywhere All At Once," written, produced and directed by the duo who have adorned themselves solely as Daniels, perhaps we are receiving a grand message from audiences that we are indeed craving material that is unquestionably original, unfamiliar, and completely surprising. What the Daniels have delivered enormously redefines "audacious," as their film will whip your head around and back again, vigorously and gleefully assault your senses and by film's end, break your heart and piece everything back together again, leaving you with a view of the world and existence itself altered and maybe even anew. 

This is precisely what the very BEST movies have the power to do when they are working so vibrantly, brilliantly, inventively, emphatically, dynamically and beautifully. Daniels' "Everything Everywhere All At Once" is swing-for-the-fences-and-hit-a-grand-slam cinema. It is not only the best film of 2022 so far (and honestly, I am unable to think of what else could come along to top it) but it is also one of the very best films of this decade.

Daniels' "Everything Everywhere At Once" stars an outstanding Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang, a Chinese-American proprietor of a struggling laundromat, she co-owns with her husband Waymond (Ke Huey Kwan), which is now being audited by the intimidating IRS agent Dierdre Beaubeirdra (Jamie Lee Curtis). Adding to Evelyn's stress is the arrival of her demanding Father, Gong Gong (James Wong) from China, an impending divorce initiated by Waymond, and ongoing conflicts with her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu), who now has a girlfriend named Becky (Tallie Medel).

And even with all of these factors, which would already be more than enough, Evelyn soon discovers that she must connect with her myriad of other selves from multiversal universes in order to defeat a grave threat known as Jobu Tupaki, who can potentially unravel all of existence in every universe.

Perhaps just a hair more than I described an be fully discerned from the film's trailer and truthfully, that it all that I feel comfortable sharing with you here because Daniels' "Everything Everywhere All At Once" is a film that rapturously exceeds itself from the confines of its expansive title and ultimately, extends itself further than anything the trailer could present to you. The glorious surprise of the film in its entirety is in the unknowing and therefore, it should be experienced as such.

I am comfortable expressing to you that Daniels have stuffed the film, to the point of near overloading, with comedy--both slapstick and pitch dark, science fiction and comic book aesthetics, a aching family drama, horror, martial arts films and animation into an orgiastic, wildly anarchistic stew that is proudly indescribable and brazenly defies categorization--a true cinematic gift during a time when everything has to be explained in one sentence or even one classification. 

"Everything Everywhere All At Once," through the unfiltered imagination and wide open sky heart of Daniels' storytelling and direction, merged with the equally unfiltered work from their complete filmmaking team--from Larkin Seipie's gorgeous Cinematography, Paul Rogers' whiplash, kaleidoscopic editing, the engulfing score from Son Lux, Kelsi Ephraim's set design and good Lord, Shirley Kurata's costume design and the dazzling makeup design, sound design, art direction and fight choreography--unleashes a full throttle take-it-or-leave-it experience yet it is not a confrontational one. 

This is a film of embrace. It is reaching out for us and all we have to do is reach back.  

It this makes any sense at all, try to envision or remember how you felt the very first time that you saw The Wachowski's action triumph, reality challenging "The Matrix" (1999). Take that, and then combine films as varied and as singular as Tom Tykwer's "Run Lola Run" (1998), Spike Jonze's "Being John Malkovich" (1999) and "Where The Wild Things Are" (2009), Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York" (2008),  Edgar Wright's "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" (2010), Terrence Malick's "The Tree Of Life" (2011), Boots Riley's "Sorry To Bother You" (2018) and the films of Michel Gondry, Terry Gilliam or the late Ken Russell and you just might gather what kind of a film you are in for. 

A film of marital strife and kung fu battles. A film of grave Mother-daughter dynamics and a surreal vision of a universe in which humans have hot dog hands as appendages. A film of the Asian and Asian-American experience combined with deep psychology, enormous sound and vision and the urgent silence and sorrow that suggests William Steig's Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (1969). It is a film of pathos and absurdity, whimsy and nightmares, the sublime, grandiose and poignant...in every frame, at every moment, from beginning to end.

Now, one would think that to have a film this heavily stuffed would be too much of a great thing, even for all of its unabashed creativity and world building and building and building. Yet, Daniels ensures that all of this is not simply art for art's sake or smug independent film quirkiness for there is a method to their specialized multiverse madness where the spinning of a laundromat dryer is a stand in for the karmic wheel and an everything bagel represents the end of all things.  

For as all out bonkers as "Everything Everywhere All At Once" is, there is a gravity that supplies the film with purpose, meaning, and a poignancy that I feel will release your personal floodgates by the film's wrenching, resplendent climax as the metaphors abound and the honest philosophical vision at work is the true engine at the soul of the film. For the multiverse can be taken at face value, as a literal form of existence, yet the overall existential quality of the film allows the multiverse to function as something so tangible and true, something evidenced so thrillingly through the exceedingly strong performances from the cast.

Michelle Yeoh is absolutely extraordinary in the leading role of Evelyn Wang, as her journey through the multiverse is rooted in the existential journeys that we all face every single day of our lives. What choices do I make? What can I become? If I take this route, what will be the outcome or if I take that route, will that lead me to to who I feel that I am able to be? What is my potential and is who I imagined myself to be the person that I actually am? Or am I destined to live a life that I never wanted, being caught on a treadmill that stifles my dreams, visions and hope itself?

Through Evelyn, and for ourselves in the audience, the multiverse could exist and serve as every thought and feeling that she and we hold about ourselves within our individualistic places in a chaotic yet symbiotic universe. We are all trying to make sense of something that in essence does not make sense and never will. Yet, we continue to seek meaning in the inherent connections that we share to the universe, the world, to all of our selves that reside within our one self and most importantly, to the people who mean the most to us. For in contact and connection, for in finding unity with those we love, we are then greater able to spiral through the universe together knowing that we are seen, we are understood, we are accepted regardless of who or what we are, who we did or did not become. 

Michelle Yeoh rises and exceeds every challenge the Daniels toss her way. It is a performance of tremendous grace, agility, humor, flight, commitment and acceptance of the possibilities contained within life, the universe and everything. Every accolade that shines her way is powerfully earned and deserved as she is formidable. 

As her daughter, the ironically named Joy, Stephanie Hsu is Michelle Yeoh's equal as she represents the futility and self perceived failures of navigating existence. She is the bottomless rage at the incredulity of living a life in which one is felt to be unaccepted, eternally misunderstood and unseen, and therefore, unloved for who could love something that is so obviously unlovable. She is the antagonist, the nihilist and what we are experiencing with her is a devastating portrait of mental illness and depression at its darkest and most manic, punishing and despairing, recalling Kirsten Dunst's devastating work in Lars Von Trier's "Melancholia" (2011), for why bother to exist in a world if it was never meant for me? 

While Evelyn and Joy serve as the film's yin-yang, Waymond Wang exists to bridge the gap. As Weymond, what a delight it was to see Ke Huy Quan, the former Short Round from Steven Spielberg's "Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom" (1984) and Data from Richard Donner's "The Goonies" (1985), after all of this time!! It is a rapid fire, bilingual performance that flows effortlessly from comedy to drama on a dime as we are first introduced to the multiverse through his character. 

He is our guide and in doing so, Quan showcased his superlative skill and ability with not only making the concept of the multiverse understandable, but also depicting the differences, shadings and connective tissue to all of his multiversal selves. While being different, they are also all the same and whether hapless or heroic, dashing or down trodden, Waymond provides the moral center of the film's primary conflict. He contains the messages that neither Evelyn or Joy are able to decipher, let alone hear. He binds them together as they threaten to permanently come apart and it is through his unquestionable warmth that the film receives its soul.     

Daniels' "Everything Everywhere All At Once" is a mind bending, phantasmagorical, deliriously absurd, beautifully nightmarish, balletically bizarre, psychedelic, polychromatic wonderment that also pierces the heart profoundly and it enormously felt. It is the film that celebrates the act of simply and majestically being alive and how every moment that we live and connect to that life force, that we even try at all at anything is a seismic victory. For living IS a victory. 

What a gift it is to go to the movies and witness something that fills you up so blissfully that the effect is lifting. Believe me, dear readers. "Everything Everywhere All At Once" is an absolute triumph.

MELANCHOLY MAGIC: a review of "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore"

 

"FANTASTIC BEATS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE"
Based upon characters and a screenplay written by J.K. Rowling
Screenplay Written by J.K. Rowling & Steve Kloves
Directed by David Yates
***1/2 (three and a half stars)
RATED PG 13

The continuing "Fantastic Beasts" series, J.K. Rowling's cinematic prequel saga to the "Harry Potter" film and book series, has seen more than its share of obstacles behind the scenes and there is truly no need to waste any more digital space addressing those issues here, aside from the obvious fact that they have proven to be a distraction from the actual cinematic storytelling at work. But furthermore, it is because of the story being told that a disconnect exists regardless of any familiarity and desire to return to the world of wizards, muggles and Hogwarts. 

For me, I remember the moment when I felt that I was disengaging from Rowling's vision for the first time. The sequence occurred in the middle of the first installment, David Yates' "Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them" (2016), where magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is attempting to attract and capture a rhinoceros styled creature called an Erumpent. While whimsical and purposeful to establishing the character of Newt Scamander and his adoration for all creatures great and small, it was also ponderous and unfortunately, stopped the momentum dead in its tracks. In short, the spell Rowling and Yates were unquestionably working diligently to weave was breaking. 

On the whole, the first "Fantastic Beasts" film was the first time when Rowling's storytelling did not quite land. And as I mused then, perhaps J.K. Rowling's gifts are better suited to the page rather than the screen as the rules for each brand of storytelling are markedly different. She possessed more than enough story and plot with that first film, but also a weakened sense of how to get from scene to scene and therefore, making for a less than satisfying whole. Chapter One as a book is one thing, as you can simply turn the page for Chapter Two. But, within a film, the experience needs to work simultaneously as Chapter One and as a complete experience, and that is where the first film faltered for me.  

By the second film, Yates' "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald" (2018), the parts snapped together in a much more satisfying way with an experience that provided the momentum, emotional depth and looming darkness that made for a compelling installment, as well as exciting me for Chapter Three. Now, after four long years, Yates' "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore" has arrived and has proven itself to being the best of the the prequel series so far. While not without flaws, most notably in its pacing issues, it is the most emotionally resonant production, one that finds pure and undeniably poignant ways to bridge the gap between this series and the adventures of the "Harry Potter" film and book series (which again takes place decades before Harry and his friends are born), while also being an exquisite rumination on love and loss. 

Opening a few years after the previous installment, David Yates' "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore," finds the Wizarding World on the precipice of grave danger with the increased presence and rise to power of Gellert Grindelwald (now played by Mads Mikkelsen). The dark wizard's latest scheme is to steal victory within an upcoming election, via the aid of a Qilin, a fantastical beast with the power of clairvoyance as well as the ability to see into another's soul. Yet, the Qilin in particular is a fantastic beast stolen by Grindelwald's acolytes, and subsequently murdered and revived through Grindelwald's necromancy. If successful, Grindelwald would gain complete control over the Wizarding World, affording him the opportunity to unleash his genocidal war upon the Muggle world. 

Unable to battle Grindelwald himself due to a blood pact, Hogwarts' Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) builds a small team designed to defeat the man who is his former best friend as well as one with whom he was once in love. 

In addition to Senegalese-French wizard Yusef Kama (William Nadylam), American witch and Professor of Charms Eulalie "Lally" Hicks (an excellent Jessica Williams), and Head Auror of the British Ministry Of Magic Theseus Scamander (Callum Turner), Dumbledore recruits Theseus' younger brother and magizoologist Newt  Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), his loyal assistant Bunty Broadacre (Victoria Yeates) and American baker Jacob Kowalski (a warmly strong Dan Folger), still mourning the departure of his true love, the witch Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol), who defected to Grindelwald's ranks. 

This adventure finds our heroes intertwined within episodes that contain nothing less than assassination attempts, and a perilous escape from a German wizard prison, where inmates are devoured by an enormous manticore every time a light is extinguished and the aforementioned election. Yet, most of all, it is a mission that finds Dumbledore, Newt, Jacob and Grindelwald each confronted with the undying embers of loves gained and lost combined with the pain of regret from mistakes made and past tragedies endured while facing down an uncertain future.   

David Yates' "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore" is an elegant production, helmed with superb care and class. Crisply filmed by Cinematographer George Richmond and adorned with sumptuous costume and set designs, it is an experience which delivers an amalgamation of '40s film noir, old fashioned British espionage films, the "Mission: Impossible" television series, and that mystical, magical quality that effectively merged the whimsy, the foreboding and the melancholy that we have grown to adore from the "Harry Potter" films and the previous two "Fantastic Beasts" installments. Additionally, this third episode functions as a cultural critique, a political allegory starring rigged elections and fascistic tendencies illustrating just how easily and rapidly democracy can transform into totalitarian regimes with a eugenic philosophy at its core.  

Working in collaboration with "Harry Potter" screenwriter Steve Kloves, J.K. Rowing has streamlined her narrative, not in overall complexity, but to allow the series its proper weight in its emotional resonance. In that aspect, "The Secrets Of Dumbledore" is, beyond the magic and intrigue, at its core, a love story, or a series of love stories, with a seemingly inevitable wizard war as a backdrop.

For me, the heart of the film rests in its prologue and absolutely lovely epilogue, neither of which I will describe in full here, but both of which are just aching in their respective sense of longing. These two sequences tie the emotional threads of the characters together, thus giving the film purposeful bookends to the narrative. Of course, the film continues to explore the fallout of Dumbledore and Grindelwald's already ended romance, yet one where the embers still remain, richly symbolized by the crystal phial wrapped around Dumbledore's hand and wrist, representing the love he cannot completely relinquish even though he must in order to defeat Grindelwald. 

And then, there is also the continuing story of Jacob and Queenie, whom by the opening of this third film, have lost each other twice yet remain connected. Furthermore, we have the fraternal love stories between brothers Newt and Theses plus Dumbledore and his younger brother Aberforth (Richard Coyle), with whom they share a strained relationship due to familial tragedy and the figure of the disturbed, abused Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), figures crucially. 

As previously stated, David Yates' "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore" is an exquisitely rendered experience, which never at any point succumbs to anything resembling the more puerile aspects of big budget franchise driven movies. It is mature in approach and execution, which means it may not exactly be the cup of tea for younger fans of Rowling's Wizarding World universe yet by the same token, I did appreciate Yates' unwillingness to scale the material downwards for that audience, in preference of giving younger viewers something to reach towards.

All of that being said, the film is not without flaws, primarily in its deliberate pacing. Yes, the film is not in much of a hurry to get towards its destination, a tactic that works for and against the end result. In its favor, we have time to luxuriate in the visual details, the aesthetic  splendor, the skill of the seasoned performances and the emotional resonance. To its detriment, there are quite a number of sequences that did need a certain tightening, push and heft to greater reflect the inherent urgency of the story, for the potential loss of democracy and slide towards fascism, a looming wizard war, and on going heartbreak would suggest a greater urgency and momentum, wouldn't it?

The disconnect of this prequel series when compared to the deep embrace towards the original "Harry Potter" series is more than evident and whatever difficulties these prequels have with fully earning the devotion of viewers and fans (real world controversies notwithstanding) has to be acknowledged in order to even attempt to take these new films upon their own cinematic terms. 

As Newt Scamander, Eddie Redmayne continues to deliver an affectionately quirky performance of a relatively enigmatic character who is more than a little peculiar and not the easiest to pin down. The growth of Newt Scamander over the three films thus far has been depicted in subtle yet evident shadings. 

While still presented as a figure who would most likely be happiest being far away from most people and left alone to his world travels and discoveries of the titular fantastic beats he so adores, "The Secrets Of Dumbledore" showcases Newt's evolution from loner to reluctant hero and now, to a willing soldier in Dumbledore's first army--a character who is experiencing that a newfound desire for human connection and therefore, an inter-connectivity between all living things that is now being severely threatened should Grindewald succeed. And still, as before, Newt Scamander remains a central figure while not being a leading character, but more on that shortly.

As the younger Albus Dumbledore, the always magnetic Jude Law excels! While Law displays hints of what Michael Gambon achieved with his performances in the "Harry Potter" movies, he mines new depths of the younger man, simultaneously nursing a broken heart while ensuring the greater good to the world wizarding and otherwise and providing the emotional foreshadowing of perhaps why he behaved, nurtured, loved and sacrificed as he did in his future life once Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Voldemort and other significant figures entered his life. While there may not be any real surprises to Dumbledore's secrets, what is accomplished through Law's performance allows a greater core to emerge to this beloved character, and therefore, that palpable undercurrent of romantic loss and even existential loneliness that never truly fades, regardless of the lengthy passage of time.

And still, if were being honest, there is not really a central figure to latch onto and perhaps, this might be why some viewers are having some difficulty embracing this series on a similar level to the original Harry Potter series, where the leading character was crystal clear and everything spirals from Harry himself as he embarks upon his journey from his friends and enemies, his desires, wishes, faults fears, failures, victories and purpose. In essence, we experience everything when he experiences it and in doing so, a powerful connection is forged between the character and story to readers and viewers. 

For the "Fantastic Beasts" series, it is feeling moreover to me that the leading character is not actually a person or one of the titular beasts but possibly the Wizarding World itself and whatever connection we hold to this universe J.K. Rowling created, which can make the proceedings feel less personal even as the fate of that world is at stake. 

Additionally, this series is one that is demanding a particular level of patience that has been unasked for, so to speak, in all of the past Harry Potter material (to a degree) because for the films, we already had the books to return to and with the books, the pace at which the story unfolded was entirely in the hands of each individual reader. 

With "Fantastic Beasts," as there are no books to turn to, we are indeed waiting for each film to be created before beginning to experience a return to the story and Wizarding World. Of course, this reality mirrors the time period when there were only books and hungry fans had to wait for each new installment to be published but again, we were deeply invested, some people to a near primal degree, with the character of Harry Potter and his evolution. Can audiences ever feel that same devotion to a place? A time period?

If all of the "Harry Potter" movies captured the urgency and angst of youth and growing up then David Yates' "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore" reflects the melancholy of middle age, as youthful idealism and integrity are more greatly threatened by hardened cynicism and by nature, is more muted than one's formative years. 

Even so, the middle years are no less passionate, no less filled with all manner of existential ache and with this film, again, the poignancy and pain of the prologue and that resplendently bittersweet epilogue just makes me desire to hang onto this world just a little bit longer.