Indie Web Series: Everything Before Us
Relationships are known to be extremely complex in terms of how well two people can get along or how their conflicts can affect their search for happiness in an already complicated life. But what if there was a way to control this in order to avoid emotional damage and heartbreak? The story of Everything Before Us explores this and much more.
The premise of this series relies on exploring a company named the Department of Emotional Integrity or DEI, which documents all relationship activity. The company also assigns a public “relationship score” upon turning 18 years old in order to keep people in check with their choices while in the relationship. The twist? It also affects your life when choosing to either study abroad while in college, acquiring a bank loan for a business, or simply applying for a job.
Add to this the twists and turns of relationships, as we meet our main characters Ben, Sara, Seth, and Hayley. The first couple reconnecting after a bad breakup, while the second one decides to register for a long-distance relationship after graduating high school. Both subjects are dissected beautifully in this five part chronicle now available on YouTube.
The series is executed excellently in both the acting and writing department with a story that keeps you on an edge waiting to see how each unfolds for every character. The cinematography is also a stand-out along with the music, which serves as an additional character that knows exactly how to convey each feeling through tunes by both setting the tone and becoming a base for the scene presented. This consistently helps propel each character’s story forward to a satisfying feeling for audience members who are invested in this production.
Another aspect that shines throughout each chapter is the strong parallel between Ben and Sara, the older couple, and Hayley and Seth, the younger couple. This becomes a smart choice in both casting and storytelling, as the creative team aims to make you believe at first that Hayley and Seth are a reflection of Ben and Sara’s younger years as a couple until all thought of this is broken when we first hear Seth’s name and the revelation that he actually ends up working in Sara’s bakery. Even though the stories are separate it still works as a strong reflection for the problems that the younger couple start to face towards the end of the story.
The show also jabs at certain aspects of society in terms of what the DEI scores can represent for everyone in this series, which is set in the distant future. From not being accepted at your dream job to not being able to get into the coolest club in town, the story does an excellent job at maintaining its purpose throughout the course of each chapter by both presenting the serious and not so serious consequences of having a public low score established by this department. This helps the story unfold in a balanced way in order for the audience to have some space to breathe during some of the more complicated moments during the production.
This is in part due to the great casting choices made by the creative team. The cast includes recurring actors from other well-known series and shorts from Wong Fu Productions such as Aaron Yoo, Brittany Ishibashi, Brandon Soo Hoo, Chris Riedell, and Joanna Sotomura, among others. Each performance shines in service to the series and each character throughout their distinct journeys and situations in how they all deal differently with the DEI’s expectations of relationships.
Another character that is a standout falls on actor Randall Park. Park portrays Randall Lee, a recurring DEI agent who consistently tries to ignore the faults he sees in his department’s purpose due to the ongoing process of both registering and terminating relationships along the way. Lee’s choice to help Ben and Sara towards the end of the season is one that leaves you both satisfied and intrigued toward’s this character’s reaction.
Such curiosity led to the creation of a short film titled For Us, which serves as the story of Randall Lee and the experiences that led up to his appearance in Everything For Us. The film presents Lee’s heartbreak along with his misconception of what truly is important in terms of falling in love. The short serves as an excellent tie into Everything For Us that comes full circle for the audience that enjoyed the first chapters of this story.
Everything For Us was released in April 2015 at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and was first distributed by Vimeo. Directed by Phillip Wang, the project served as a film that was distributed on iTunes and Netflix before premiering as a 5 chapter chronicle on Wong Fu Productions’ YouTube channel in 2020. The premiere of the project led to no less than 282,186 views on the digital platform with praise from its audience for its story, acting, and messages.
Wong Fu Productions joined the digital platform community in 2007 and currently showcase more than 21 projects which are a mix of web series, shorts, and short films that tackle different topics and genres depending on the story presented. The company is co-founded by Wang and Wesley Chan with the aim to tell creative stories with a positive influence, as well as a home for Asian American representation.
Everything For Us is a must-see chronicle that tackles in an effective way the troubles of searching and sometimes achieving that perfect union with your partner. Armed with great storytelling, talent, and heart-filled messages it’s not hard to understand why five years later this production still resonates with both new and revisiting audiences. Don’t miss out on this series that is sure to give you the highest score in the life department.
