EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

Cert 12A

139 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong violence, sex references, language

For two hours I couldn't believe that Everything Everywhere All At Once was being compared to my favourite film of all time, It's A Wonderful Life.

And then the mists cleared and it all tied together and made sense - well, maybe not the hotdog hands and the talking rocks.

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert's multiverse movie stars Michelle Yeoh as an under-pressure laundry owner whose family relationships are in nearly as much of a mess as her tax returns.

She has a demanding loveless elderly father (James Hong), an angry gay daughter (Stephanie Hsu) and a husband (Ke Huy Quan) who is giving up on attempt to keep the peace.

The family laundry is busy but the tax returns are in alarming shape and the stern-faced auditor (Jamie Lee Curtis) is in no mood for excuses or deadline extensions.

However, Yeoh's character is highly distracted by being dragged into a parallel universe by another version of her husband.

He tells her that she could be the key to defeating some very bad people who just happen to include her tax inspector and her daughter.

Thus, mayhem ensues as the universes clash, leaving our heroine literally not knowing whether she is coming or going.

I have to admit, for much of the first half of the movie I was wondering what on earth was going on as we flicked from humdrum family life to completely different scenarios.

But perseverance pays off and what initially seems  to be a David Lynch-style take on superhero movies becomes much clearer.

Indeed, this movie put life into perspective in a very modern way.

Yes, we can now see that everything everywhere does indeed happen all at once but we need to stand back and put into order.

Thankfully, The Daniels' film does that but I shall write no more for fear of spoiling its effect.