Sandra Wollner's 'Everytime' is a haunting and subtle grief drama that, while intriguing, leaves viewers with a sense of unease. The film's strength lies in its ability to inject genuine unease into ordinary events, but its weakness is that the plot unfolds too slowly, leaving viewers with a sense of 'too much, too late'.
The film follows a family of three women, led by the divorced mother, Ella, and her two daughters, Jessica and Melli. The story begins with the family preparing for a summer holiday, but tragedy strikes when Jessica suddenly dies. The cause of her death is not explicitly revealed, and Wollner focuses more on the impact of her death on the family's lives in the months that follow.
The film is well-acted and skillfully crafted, with rich detail and warmth in the widescreen cinematography. However, the lack of a sustained narrative and the slow pace of the plot make it difficult to latch onto. The film's third act takes an unexpected turn, with the family visiting the same seaside resort in Tenerife where they had previously vacationed. Here, the film begins to make sense, with bizarre resonances between past and present, and everyday reality and virtual reality.
The film's twist ending offers a solution that feels too good to be true, as if the family's grief is so hard to accept that they decide to ditch logic altogether. The closing scenes are staged with disquieting aplomb, lending meaning and mystery to the chronicle of a family that cannot get over a devastating loss.
In my opinion, 'Everytime' is a thought-provoking film that explores the impact of grief on human behavior. However, its slow pace and lack of sustained narrative may leave some viewers feeling unfulfilled. The film's twist ending is a bold move, but it may leave some viewers feeling that the film has 'too much, too late'. Personally, I think that the film's subtle approach to grief is its strength, but its slow pace may be its weakness. From my perspective, 'Everytime' is a film that demands patience and reflection, and its impact may not be fully realized until a second viewing.
