Everything Everywhere All at Once is the multiverse done correctly! I am so glad I watched it after seeing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Because had it been reserved, I would have been sorely disappointed at the multiverse treatment in Doctor Strange. Everything Everywhere All at Once is a masterpiece in storytelling, weaving a first-generation Chinese American story into an allegorical tale about the meaning of life.
The film is surprisingly nihilistic! I did not expect to find the positive interpretation of Nietzsche in this movie, one I resonate with profoundly. Because “nothing matters”, we are then free to do anything we want to. A nihilistic view of the world provides the proper perspective for me. The little annoyances of everyday life simply disappear. The big challenges get tackled with a clear mind and plenty of courage. Setbacks and tragedies cannot hurt me: because none of it matters.
This juxtaposes the common view of nihilism: because nothing matters, why try at anything? It’s a defeatist attitude that I am completely against. But whenever I bring up Nietzsche in polite conversation, that’s the reaction I get from people. Something tells me they aren’t ready to accept their ultimate cosmic insignificance. The daughter in Everything Everywhere All at Once explains to the mother that this moment, our lives, is but a spec of dust in the grande scheme of universal time.
Alongside the nihilistic theme is a Chinese American story. An overbearing mother, yearning to undo the mistakes of her parents, creates a monster of a daughter? Most of us first-generation Chinese American kids can relate to that. This is the sort of representation in film that we would want to see: how to tell an Asian American story, without telling an Asian American story.
Everything Everywhere All at Once had better receive some Oscar nominations. Otherwise, it’s AAPI hate!
Incoming.