In a scene in the middle of “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” Michelle Yeoh runs away from a woman who is swinging her leash dog in the air like a bola. She grabs a two-liter bottle of orange soda, sips it in a bar, and taps an earpiece to gain the powers of an alternate version of her character… endowed with the powers of a teppanyaki chef.
Not surprisingly, it’s not even in the top 10 weirdest things that happen in “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” the frantic, quirky and deeply heartfelt sci-fi film directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Sheinert that became the first art-house. Went. The hit of the post-pandemic era – and proved that at 60, Michelle Yeoh is still one of the world’s most formidable artists.
As Evelyn Wang, the owner of the troubled laundromat, Yeoh is the center of a cosmic story set against existential doom, declaring that in the eternity of the multiverse, what really matters are the relationships that seem so small in comparison. But provide stability amidst the chaos. The film is a showcase for Yeoh’s unique talents: she goes through a run-down every woman trying to make peace with her daughter (Stephanie Hsu), saves her marriage (Ke Hua Kwan plays her husband). is) and turns his business to a universe-hopping superhero in savvy sneakers that literally saves the world.
“She’s the woman you pass when you go to Chinatown or the supermarket. It can be any immigrant woman,” Yeoh said an interview With NPR last spring. “I felt it was so important to have someone who is voiced and then shown that she really is a superheroine.
“When [people] Think ‘superhero,'” he added, “it’s always the man [who’s] First in line for this. So when I got the script, it was a great relief. It was like that eventually,
The performance has earned Yeoh some of the best reviews of her 40-year career and landed her in the race for the Oscar for Best Actress. If she receives her first Academy Award nomination, it will come 26 years after she first entered Hollywood as a Chinese spy with deadly martial arts skills in “Tomorrow Never Dies.”
Since then, the Malaysian-born actress – who co-starred with Jackie Chan in Hong Kong action films in the ’80s – has built up a filmography unlike any other, moving not only among Asian and American productions, but also among bigwigs. – Jumping back. -Screen blockbusters, television series and indie movies. A small sampling of his best-known projects: “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” “The Lady,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Kung Fu Panda 2” and, of course, Ang Lee’s masterpiece “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.”
A dazzling starring role in one of the year’s most talked-about movies would be a substantial achievement for most actors, but “Everything Everywhere All At Once” is just one of Yeoh’s many projects to release in 2022. He also lent his voice to “Minions:”. Rise of Gru,” “Pause of Fury: The Legend of Hank” and HBO Max’s upcoming “ARK: The Animated Series.” In addition, she appears in Netflix’s “The Witcher: Blood Origin” series, Paul Feig’s “The School”. Of Good and Evil” (due out this month) and is nothing less than James Cameron’s tall promise “Avatar: The Path of Water.”
And considering that Yeoh is still inspired by the same eccentric work ethic that propelled him to stardom four decades ago, you can bet that the future will be just as brilliant. as he recently told Rolling Stone, “There’s always this thought, ‘I’ll leave it to fate.’ Bull-. You need to work hard and the harder you work, the luckier you will be.”
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