How ‘Everything Everywhere’ explores the dimensions of love

Unequivocal love is an undeniable theme in Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” a story brimming with surreal visual creativity that has Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) “verse jumping” through a myriad of parallel universes in order to save her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu). Visual effects supervisor Zak Stoltz and a handful of artists navigated the imaginative palette with the intention of using techniques that were integrated into the existing photography rather than resorting to CGI. “We wanted this to feel more like the original “Ghostbusters” than a brand new Marvel movie,” he says. “There was a lot of conversation about making sure this stays grounded in reality.” By manipulating the practical footage, it viscerally connects us to the visual story. No scene is more significant than a climactic moment where Evelyn won’t let go of Joy as they’re pulled through different dimensions of the Everything Bagel. Combining motion blur with frame rate manipulation gave the layered effect a smeary, blended aesthetic — a look based on theoretical physics. “We tried to imply time moves differently by the bagel and it ended up giving this ethereal feeling,” Stoltz says. Isn’t that the truth.