A By-The-Numbers Chick Flick
Despite Everything is a charming, by-the-numbers chick flick, one that sticks to a simple premise with enough charisma and comedy to keep things interesting through to the end. With the plot established early on, this 75 minute picture spends most of its time building up the relationship between the sisters and it’s here where Despite Everything does really well. Unfortunately the formulaic plot and lack of imaginative set pieces holds this one back from being a more memorable Spanish film. The story here revolves around 4 sisters all living separate lives, brought together by the death of their Mother. After a particularly amusing exchange at the funeral itself, the sisters are shown a video from their late Mother, informing them their Father is not their biological Dad. Determined to find out the truth, the four sisters set out on a scavenger hunt to track down their real Fathers whilst confronting their own personal issues along the way. For the most part, Despite Everything is unashamedly predictable, developing its characters with the usual contrasting personas you’d expect from a film like this. Sara, Lucía, Sofía and Claudia do have good chemistry together though and if there’s one thing that holds everything together, it’s this. Their comedic quips and sisterly dialogue feels pretty authentic, complete with them all talking over one another in messy exchanges together and given enough individually to stamp their mark on the film. It’s just a shame that the plot doesn’t do much to really take advantage of this. Despite Everything includes all the usual tropes you’d expect from a film like this too. The stock, mischievous chimes in the musical score and the big, triumphant ending feel very typical of this sort of film along with the character arcs all being fulfilled at the end as well, all wrapped up with a neat little Hollywood-esque bow. If you’re in the mood for a chick flick, Despite Everything certainly scratches that itch. While it’s unlikely to be a film remembered for very long alongside others in this genre, it does have all the ingredients needed to make for an enjoyable watch. The characters are certainly likable and the chemistry between the four lead actresses is ultimately what holds this entire film together. While the plot itself feels very by-the-numbers, despite everything this film does well to keep you engaged to the end, even if it does fail to stand out next to so many other films in this genre.
