I had no way to enjoy watching this overwhelming film and had a headache the first time I watched it. I even had difficulty in sorting the storyline out from tons of information. Though I got key elements from this artwork: nihilism and love. It’s much more easier and enjoyable when I quickly went through this film one year later. It’s a great application of the multiverse concept originally from quantum physics to Sci-Fi, with welled handed combination of philosophy and hilarious entertainment.
This story happened in one day, which reminds me of Ulysses from James Joyce. Loser Evelyn is busy with messy life. The business is facing the brink of failure while taking care of judgmental father in-law and without being aware that weak and stupid husband Waymond wants to get divorced. And rebellious daughter Joy is a lesbian.
Technical details don’t matter anymore. Let’s focus on essential ideas. Every tiny decision creates another branching universe, resulting in infinite multiverse. Look back, she run away with current nerdy husband, breaking with families. If you are pushed beyond limit, your fracturing mind experiences every world every possibility at the same time. What will happen if you know everything is just a random rearrangement, a statistical inevitability, and you are nothing special. Nothing gives you meaning. There is no objective truth anymore, you will be free from any morality and guilty. Because nothing matters. That’s how Jobu Tupaki is trapped by nihilism and why builds a Bagel, for eliminating herself. The Bagel without core is the image of darkness in nihilism, no love.
When Evelyn gets mind fracturing on the way to save her daughter, she jumps into different universe and experiences different life. It is fun to see such creative and funny different possibilities, cookie/small finger is Kung Fu, Hot dog finger…… She could have been a Kung Fu start, a chef, an artist… It seems her current life is the most worst one who never fulfills goals. However, in fact every life is as same terrible as others. You lose your freedom if you are a star. It’s just trade off. It’s always ridiculous and terrible. She is attempted to join Jobu Tupaki for disappearing forever. In last minute, she is stopped and convinced by naive husband, who gives the ultimate answer: the only thing to resist nihilism is love. Being kind, that’s the key to meaning. With love, every universe is as good as this one. She has the pattern of eye with a pupil is love to cancel nihilism.
One ambitious book tried to capture everything in one day. Overall it’s a good movie, but I don’t like the rock conversation, which is obviously preaching. There will be better ways to present those ideas. It’s interesting to discuss why Evelyn and her daughter Joy (people) have different choices when facing nihilism. Is it because Evelyn has experienced love and her daughter not really? Is romantic love the only tool to defeat nihilism? What about families and friendship? Last but not least, the answer is not fully given, how to practice kindness? Why some are so kind and some are not? How big is the role of genetics?
