Everything Everywhere All At Once took the world by storm in 2022. Pulling out career-defining performances from Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and James Hong and skyrocketing Stephanie Hsu into the mainstream spotlight (not to mention winning Jamie Lee Curtis her first Oscar); the film won over the world. Aside from its box office smashing success, the film confused and enthralled audiences with its fresh approach to the ideologies and philosophies of life.
The creators of the film, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (known as Daniels), have often used everyday objects as metaphors in their previous works, like Swiss Army Man. They are beloved for their creative storytelling, which often incorporates surreal and absurd elements to explore deep themes about the human experience with humor and pathos, and Everything Everywhere All at Once is no exception.
Everything Everywhere All At Once follows Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) as she gets sucked into a multiverse depicting all of the different ways her life could have turned out (like being a movie star or having hot dogs for fingers). It’s revealed that the higher power at the center of the multiverse is Jobu Tupaki, an alternate-reality version of her daughter, Joy (Stephanie Hsu). Out of the strained and tear-stained mother-daughter relationship between Evelyn and Joy and all of the guilt and regret Evelyn seems to hold regarding how her life turned out, Jobu Tupaki is born. This reveals that one of the key themes of the movie is the importance of making choices with intention and considering their consequences. The film presents the idea that our actions have a ripple effect on the world around us and emphasizes the need to take responsibility for those actions. This theme is reflected in Evelyn’s journey, as she learns to navigate the complexities of the multiverse, her newfound powers, and the impact of her decisions on those around her.
This ties into how Everything Everywhere All At Once also highlights the power of connection and the idea that everything and everyone is interconnected. Despite our differences, we are all linked together, and our actions can affect others in ways we may never anticipate. The film encourages empathy and the recognition that we are all part of a larger whole, emphasizing the importance of compassion, kindness, and understanding.
At a turning point of the film, Jobu Tupaki brings Evelyn into her mind’s eye, essentially, and explains her views on the universe to “help her open up her mind.” She explains that one day she “got bored and put everything on a bagel. Everything… and it collapsed in on itself… it became the truth.” The truth for the Daniels is that “nothing matters.”
Here, the bagel represents the nihilistic philosophy of the film. Her character portrays the ideals of a mix between absurdism and nihilism: nothing matters, but isn’t that the whole point? She takes action out of a desire for chaos because she believes no matter what she does it won’t really matter. Within this paradigm, the bagel symbolizes the disappearance of meaning. Everything Joy/Jobu has ever cared about and everything they never have is put on the bagel and pulled inside of it when it collapses on itself: “sucked into a bagel.” It is all futile because it disappears in the end no matter what. But still, there is beauty to be found in the idea that, no matter what, there is no ultimate gigantic meaning to life. It’s the little things, and you can’t pile them all on top of each other trying to garner a profound answer. Their existence is the answer.
Everything Everywhere All At Once also explores the idea of acceptance and self-discovery. Through her travels across multiple dimensions, Evelyn learns to accept herself and embrace the different versions of herself that exist in different worlds. The film highlights the importance of self-discovery and self-acceptance, emphasizing the need to let go of preconceptions and embrace the possibilities of the universe. This is what Evelyn must face throughout her character arc, and why the iconic line “in another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you” is so important. She had to reckon with her past and understand how her tiny, mundane life is the entire meaning of life — it is connection, it is fulfillment, it is Joy.