No one could argue that Everything Everywhere All At Once, the terrific new film from directing duo Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheiner), is misleadingly titled. An extremely ambitious, spectacularly original, and sometimes rather dizzying affair, the film brings a whole new definition to the phrase ‘throwing everything at the wall’ – and the good news for cinemagoers is that a good deal of it sticks.

Our central character is middle-aged launderette owner Evelyn Wang – played with tremendous relish by Michelle Yeoh – whose life is initially presented as both humdrum and rather chaotic. We’re introduced to her and her family in a perfectly executed opening sequence that offers the first glimpse of Daniels’ virtuosic direction, as she attempts to deal with all manner of difficulties: an ailing father, a deteriorating marriage, a contemptuous relationship with her teenage daughter, and perhaps most stressful of all, a looming tax audit.

These early stages – before the multiverse and all its attendant zaniness kicks in – are absolutely crucial in terms of setting the scene, and the rest of the film only works because of how deftly the character dynamics and stakes have been established, meaning we have something to cling on to and care about when things inevitably get a bit crazy.

And make no mistake, things certainly get a bit crazy. When Evelyn briefly zones out during a meeting with Jamie Lee Curtis’ busybody tax inspector Deirdre, she is suddenly approached by a man who seems strikingly similar to her husband, with the one exception that he handles himself with a great deal more gravitas. This mysterious stranger, it turns out, is Alpha Waymond – a version of her husband from a parallel universe who has arrived in this one to enlist Evelyn on a crucial mission. 

And so after a bit of necessary explanation and exposition – which thankfully doesn’t feel too overdone – we are thrown into a very different world, or rather lots of very different worlds. The multiverse concept by its very nature opens us up to limitless possibilities, and Everything Everywhere manages this potential with far more gusto and innovation than the recently released MCU flick Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which appears remarkably plain by comparison. Most importantly, it gives Daniels a huge playground to show off a range of formal tricks as the characters engage in brilliantly choreographed combat scenes across several increasingly bizarre universes, many of which also see the directors exercising their unique brand of humour.