How Michelle Yeoh Became Our Favorite Superhero in Sensible Sneakers

thewrap.com:

the frantic, bizarre, and deeply heartfelt sci-fi film directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert that became the first art-house hit of the post-pandemic era — and proved that at 60, Michelle Yeoh is still one of the world’s most formidable performers.As beleaguered laundromat owner Evelyn Wang, Yeoh is the center of a cosmic tale that rails against existential doom, declaring that in the infinity of the multiverse, what truly matters are the relationships that seem so small in comparison but provide stability amidst the chaos.

The film is showcase for Yeoh’s unparalleled talents: She goes from a run-down everywoman trying to keep the peace with her daughter (Stephanie Hsu), save her marriage (Ke Huy Quan plays her husband) and salvage her business to a universe-hopping superhero in sensible sneakers who quite literally saves the world. “She’s the woman that you pass by when you go to Chinatown or in the supermarket.

It could be any immigrant woman,” Yeoh said in an interview with NPR last spring. “I felt that it was so important for someone like that to be given a voice and then to be shown that she is actually a super heroine.“When [people] think ‘superhero,'” she added, “it’s always the guy [who’s] first in line for it.

So that’s why when I received the script, it was such an overwhelming sense of relief. It was like, yes, finally.”The performance has earned Yeoh some of the best reviews of her 40-year career and has landed her in the Oscar race for Best Actress.