Split Decision: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Saturday, January 7, 2023 at 8:46AM No two people feel the same exact way about any film. Thus, Team Experience is pairing up to debate the merits of each of the big awards season movies this year. Here’s Abe Friedtanzer and Baby Clyde talking about Everything Everywhere All at Once.
ABE: Baby Clyde, I hope all is well! I'm eager to start talking about a film that I absolutely loved, Everything Everywhere All at Once. I actually am very late to the party on this one. I wasn't seeing films in theaters yet back when it was originally released. I finally caught it about two months ago in early November and was impressed that it more than lived up to the hype. The performances are all phenomenal, and it's just drowning in creativity in a way that so few films are these days. But, if I'm to understand correctly, you don't agree. Before I get in to what else I loved about it, can you tell me what you didn't?
BABY CLYDE: In a year of Oscar contenders to which I am entirely indifferent it seems odd that the film I’m rooting for is... this. After the soul crushing mundanity of last year’s Best Picture winner, I’m all for an EEAAO triumph for the sheer batshit WTFuckery? A Michelle Yeoh win would be one of the great moments in Oscar history.
But did I enjoy it? Not one bit.
You see, one man’s wildly inventive joy is another man’s complete and utter mess. It will not surprise you to learn I am that other man.
Saw it on the big screen on its opening weekend in London. Went in not sure if it would be my cup of tea but certainly expecting to be entertained. I was on board for the first half hour or so but after that, not a clue. It just goes on and on and on. Kept nodding off but every time I awoke people were still hitting each other with hot dog fingers or cooking with raccoons on their head. I have no idea why. You could attack me with a giant butt plug and I still wouldn’t be able to explain the plot.
I always struggle with anything that involves multi or parallel universes. I like structure. I like to know that the creatives have a plan. In this kind of situation there are no stakes. There’s no tension and no drama in these narratives because in any given situation everything be explained away or changed with an absurdist time jump or Bagel of Doom (There was a Bagel of Doom, right???).
Glad it’s so successful and agree that it has great performances but this was literally Everything Everywhere All at Once and I found it exhausting.
ABE: I will concede that I'm not sure staying awake would have been particularly helpful for understanding what was going on. To me, though, that was what worked about it. If I understood the multiverse, my life would be considerably crazier (or less chaotic?), and so I appreciate what this film is doing. Two hours and twenty minutes is not a lot of time to try to capture the complexities of all that, and I love that this film takes wild swings. There are so many incredible and unbelievable moments that feel quite random, but isn't that how life is?
I feel like so many films can still be good even if they have predictable pacing, and that's part of what made this one work so well for me - it doesn't do that. Each scene might head in any number of directions, and the randomness of activating some other life's abilities was very cool. There's also something wonderful and endearing about the idea that the entire fate of the multiverse has to do with one strained relationship between a mother and daughter.
Regarding the quality of the performances -- the thing we agree on ! -- that leads me to an important question. Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan are certainly headed for Oscar nominations, but how do you watch this film and vote for Jamie Lee Curtis over Stephanie Hsu in the supporting actress race? Curtis is definitely doing something interesting, but Hsu is delivering on so many levels. What's your take?
BABY CLYDE: My take is that JLC is a much beloved industry veteran who is, for the first time in decades, in a film that is receiving awards attention and voters are jumping at the opportunity to reward her. It’s not happening at the expense of Stephanie Hsu. It is just happening concurrently. There’s nothing to say they won’t both be nominated come Oscar time and if Hsu doesn’t make it, it won’t be Curtis’ fault. As I wrote before Christmas this is the most loaded category in living memory. We have at least a dozen women who could get nominations and none of them would be a surprise. The film is entirely bat shit and couldn’t be less Osar friendly if it tried so it’s a total miracle that it’s even in the conversation for any acting noms and yet people are getting upset that it potentially may not get four acting nominations. Total madness.
I can’t deny that it is drowning in creativity, I just wish bit would have drowned more quickly. 140 minutes is a crazy length for something so confusing and repetitive. It’s never dull exactly, but good grief does it overstay it’s welcome. But then it’s in good company this year - The Fabelmans (151 mins), Babylon (189 mins), Triangle of Sadness (147 mins), Tár (158 mins), Elvis (159 mins), Avatar: The Way of Water (192 mins), RRR (185 mins). What is going on???
If I have to choose a totally bonkers, overlong, international box office sensation then this year’s pick is definitely the one with epic dance routines and tigers.
ABE: While I can agree on enthusiasm for RRR, a film that more than earns its runtime, this is actually a film I wouldn't have minded being even longer. I rarely say that, but, to me, if you have something good, keep it going for as long as possible! Imagine the many additional worlds and versions of these characters that could have been featured with an extra twenty minutes! I know that would have irritated you even more, but if we're going to let movies be long enough that you end up paying more for parking at a movie theater than the ticket itself, why not give all of them that chance?
I'd love to hear what you thought of the elements that are on the Oscar shortlists - the score, song, and sound.
BABY CLYDE:Luckily my nearest movie theatre is 5 minutes up the road from my house. I used to have a policy of always staying until the end no matter how much I disliked a film because if I’d stuck it out then I could hate it with authority. Those days are long gone. I left both Elvis and Avatar: The Way of Water around the halfway mark. Life’s too short and I had Ava Gardner films to watch. I’ll finish Elvis one day but can confidently say 83 minutes of blue alien mumbo jumbo was enough for a lifetime.
As far as the shortlist elements go, I really have no idea. I didn’t notice the score. I’m sure the sound design was great, but it didn’t in anyway mitigate the incomprehensible nonsense I was witnessing. As for the song, was it over the credits? I was up and out of my seat the minute they rolled so must have missed it.
But it’s still gonna get double digit Oscar noms and I’m totally down for that. Much as I did not enjoy watching this film, its imagination and daring certainly warrant rewarding over its nearest, dreariest competitors. Something as wild as EEAAO winning Best Picture would be unprecedented and I’ll go for an Oscar Moment over a dull deserved win anytime.
ABE: For someone who allegedly didn’t like this film very much, I’m glad to hear that you’re still rooting for it. I’d be so thrilled to see it win big, especially since - as readers will soon learn - I was not too fond of its main Best Picture competition.
What’s your take, readers?
other "split decisions"
- All Quiet on the Western Front - poetic or vacuous?
- Babylon - thrilling or interminable?
- The Fabelmans - joyous or phony?
- TÁR - utterly engrossing or underwhelming?
- Triangle of Sadness - facile or multi-faceted?
- The Whale - moving or just plain bad?
Reader Comments (14)
Interesting to see someone say they enjoyed it for the first half hour but then lost interest as the movie progressed, because it had the opposite effect on me. I wasn’t into it for at least the first half hour (probably more), but it gradually won me over as it revealed the emotional core beneath its overt zaniness — which, by the way, I usually *do* like, but this particular brand of zaniness wasn’t clicking with me at first. By the end of the movie I was firmly on board with it.
I’ll say that I still didn’t like it *quite* as much as a lot of others did, but ultimately I thought it was a sweet movie that has a surprising amount to say about current generational differences. To play devil’s advocate, while I don’t really agree with this assertion, I’ll admit that I can at least understand how one could label it the “A24 movie for Marvel fans” that I’ve heard others accuse it of being.
It would be one of the best decisions in Oscar history... a film that pushes filmmaking forward.
It's entertaining, funny, moving, well shot, well edited and well acted. Deserve the best picture victory? Yes
About the Hsu/Curtis topic I hope that both are nominated and that Curtis win. It's true that Hsu does a wonderful work, but Curtis does a genial comic work. And comedy genius is often underrated or thought to be less valid than dramatic.
Love the rocks universe storyline
Pretty much in agreement with BC's take, the acting and technical stuff was superb, but the storyline was a hot mess (on purpose, no doubt). But I'd like to add that while this movie is getting so much praise (rightfully so for it's immense creativity), a great but equally scattered art film that struck me similarly doesn't seem to be (Inarritu's Bardo). This all said, I am 100% in Yeoh's camp for Best Actress. Cate has enough statues and besides, Tar is overrated.
I genuinely liked some elements of the film and disliked others.
The performances were wonderful, but for me the core of the film was rather shallow and unsatisfying. Nihilism and absurdism - no matter how much their boosters insist are the “realistic” forms of looking at existence - do not fulfill and provide no more substance than would other fundamentalisms of a different stripe. They lack any experience with deeper meaning, preferring to suggest that we do things of worth and value with our lives while putting it all under the faux-wisdom of saying “it’s all pointless.” Definitely undercuts any punch that the relationships in the story can have when they’re placed in this position. That’s just me, though.
The multiverse is an intriguing idea, but due to the constraints of a film (and the budget), I have yet to find a fictional story that features it with much success. We return to just a couple realities in this story while it obviously wanted to plumb more of them, and that’s too bad. I found myself frustrated that we were returning to the same ones over and over again.
Plus, I agree with BC here in that it felt like it went on far too long. I didn’t feel that way with every film with a hefty runtime this year. Strange how some felt like a breeze while others were not so successful.
A definite mixed bag for me, and while I won’t object to its likely awards success, I would still place it far below such films as Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, The Batman and The Whale, just to name a few of my favorites.
Not really sure someone who slept through a movie is the person who should be discussing it... but, perhaps no one else disliked it enough! I am only annoyed because EEAAO is easily my #1. 😌
As soon as I saw this film, I knew nothing would top it as my favorite of the year. I saw it with my mother, and then went again soon after with my boyfriend. It immediately became an all-time fav for me.
Maybe I just have that kind of wacky brain, but I didn't have an issue following along, no matter how chaotic it was. Or maybe I was just having so much damn fun that it didn't matter to me.
Absurd comedy, kung fu level action, profound human drama... it was indeed everything all at once, and I loved it. As "sci-fi" as it was, it never lost the humanity underneath it all.
I hope it snags both Supporting Actress noms, and wins all three acting categories. In my world, it gets Picture and Director as well, but I'm sure best pic alone is it's best bet at this point.
I'm hoping at the Globes it can prevail in the Comedy category even tho Banshees got more love... if it does, I think that will be telling of its chances.
My first viewing was with a rollicking enthusiastic crowd and that certainly affected my response - I had a blast.
However, I found that very little stuck with me in the following weeks, went again about a month later and was a lot less impressed. I think it's a terrible structure - it spends a chaotic first act on confounding world building that all ends up being mostly unnecessary, since the third act does away with it all to focus on its message. The third act of this is wildly overlong - it should not take an hour to go through that emotional climax and I feel it resulted in a lot of missed opportunities for playing with the world they set up. I actually really appreciate what Wes said about nihilism, since I largely agree and I don't think the logical progression from "nothing matters" to "....but love each other and choose kindness anyway" is remotely earned. The fact that the third act preachily drills this in a million times also doesn't help matters. Felt a bit like a Hallmark card by the end.
Anyway, fun fight choreography, good performances, mostly refreshing, but ultimately, doesn't add up to much of anything for me. I'm glad it was successful and caught on with a larger audience - we need this brazen originality! Michelle Yeoh is wonderful and I'll be happy to see her win Best Actress. This did kinda end up being my award's season villain this year though (The Whale unseen) which I did not expect. Anyway, I'm loving these features so far!
It's a refreshing wild ride with top form acting,would I watch it again probably not.
2022's crop of films have left me feeling zero,a lot of the frontrunner acting nominees left me fairly cold.
I too think Hsu is the better supporting actress but have thought all year since seeing it JLC is winning the Oscar.
My wife and I have tried two watch it twice and Have failed to even get half through it.
I am unhappy. it has such huge chances for Oscars.
My favorite movie in a decade and it'll be ending up in my Top 10 of all time. I'm so pleased the success it's had this season. It only gets better with additional viewings.
Bits of this are good - the rocks, racacoonie, Michelle Yeoh as always - but it comes across as so proud of its own entertainment value and profundity (when what it's saying is nice and fine but not remotely new or deep) I found it an absolute chore by the end. It feels like Most Picture - but in the way that people often criticize winners for Editing or Costumes as Most Editing or Most Costumes - and a win for versus the Field or McDonagh, I wouldn't like that at all.
I'm honestly mystified by the Hsu love. I mean she gets tons of costumes and make-up and sets and the kind of arc people respond to so I guess I do, but otherwise ... I'm perplexed. If Curtis gets in/even wins I'm kind of okay with that because I'd love her to get an Oscar. But thinking she's great in this? Again, I'm perplexed. Ke Huy Quan is good, but I'd still strongly favor the Banshees guys.
All that said - totally good with a Yeoh win. She is the thing holding this together, and fits well in all of its worlds. She's, as usual, great.
I really liked this movie but am highly sympathetic to Baby Clyde's POV. It's a lot - too much, even - and it's exhausting. The title of the movie says it all. But it's got so much energy and inventiveness it's ultimately irresistible. I've been so pleasantly surprised at how much Oscar buzz it's managed to retain - who'da thunk? (Unfortunately it's also a testament to a generally weak year for more mainstream contenders, but I'll still take it.)
And the movie's not just absurdism for absurdism's sake. The heart of it is clearly the Asian mother-daughter relationship. I admit I'm a sucker for that narrative, for obvious reasons, but it's done so well here and given such a creative spin, it brings the whole film together.
I relate to BC. I admire, but don’t love, this movie. It took me 3 sessions to finish it because I knew what I was watching was new and groundbreaking, because I wanted finality on the Mother-Daughter story, and because of Ke Huy Quan’s performance. I’m not a fan of sci-fi to begin with, so my threshold is higher. But I need to be able to follow the story without feeling exhausted. Still, many moments of that movie remain with me, proof that it left a mark and carved out something new in the cinematic world. Curtis and Hsu gave good but not award worthy performances (Hsu is superb in Maisel, JLC well… the list is long). Michelle Yeoh is the only actor that could have played that role, period. Give her the Oscar, it’s time. But to me the movie belongs to the other lead performance: Quan. What a beautiful, touching, deep-felt performance that cut right through the chaos and landed straight in my heart.
The first time I watched it, everything went by so fast, I had to really gear up to watch it. The second time I watched it, everything was at normal speed. Once you know what to expect, you shift onto the film’s wavelength.
But both times, the characters and the family story stayed clear, indelible, and very moving.(The other “overstuffed” movies of the year don’t seem to have distinct characters or a clear inner story). I laughed and I cried at EEAAO, which I wasn’t expecting, either time.
In my theatre audience, there was a group sigh of personal recognition when they said, “Of all the possible Evelyns, you are the worst Evelyn, who has accomplished nothing”.