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‘Everytime’ Review: An Understated and Mysterious Chronicle of Loss

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Austrian auteur Sandra Wollner’s haunting second feature, The Trouble With Being Born, was an impressive genre-bending thriller that played like an episode of Westworld directed by Michael Haneke. Quietly mesmerizing and altogether demented, it told the story of a child robot who finds herself in the care of a man with major — and I mean MAJOR — issues.

It’s not worth spoiling that movie, which is currently available on Mubi and definitely deserves a look. Wollner’s follow-up, Everytime, isn’t worth spoiling either, although one of the problems with this mildly intriguing family saga is that the spoilers arrive too far behind schedule. So subtle that it’s hard, at times, to discern much of a plot, this delicately made tale of grieving and recovery doesn’t resonate until it ultimately does so in a big way. But when that happens, it can feel like too much, too late.

Everytime

The Bottom Line

Delicately crafted and dramatically diffuse.

Venue: Cannes Film Festival (Un Certain Regard)
Cast: Birgit Minichmayr, Lotte Keiling, Tristan López, Carla Hüttermann
Director, screenwriter: Sandra Wollner

2 hours 1 minute

That’s unfortunate, because the film showcases Wollner’s talent for injecting genuine unease into ordinary events, whether it’s an eerie stroll through the streets of Berlin, a text message sent to a deceased person or a trip to the Canary Islands that grows increasingly surreal. But at two hours long and without much of a sustained narrative, Everytime never quite gives us enough to latch onto, even if its giant twist of an ending leaves us with something to contemplate.

Helmed with the rigorous aesthetic of a Berliner Schule feature (the work of Angela Schanelec especially comes to mind), the movie follows a family of three women who, at least for the first 20 minutes, seem to have nothing really special about their lives. The divorced mother, Ella (Birgit Minichmayr), looks after her two daughters, the teenager Jessica (Carla Hütterman) and the younger Melli (Lotte Keiling), who fight a lot because they have to share the same bedroom. Whenever she can, Jessica steals away to hang out with her boyfriend, Lux (Tristan López), a quiet type who likes to party too much.

Just when they’re about to leave on summer holiday, tragedy strikes when Jessica suddenly dies. As with much of what we see in Everytime, it’s not exactly clear why she dies: Did she kill herself? Get into a freak accident? Take too many drugs and make a fatal error? Wollner is less interested in finding a reason for what happened than in portraying how Jessica’s death ripples through the lives of her loved ones in the months that follow, using ellipses to jump ahead and focus on how each of them react.

As a portrait of human behavior in the wake of a terrible loss, the film feels both studied and compassionate, revealing how everyone tries their best to move on but can never quite get Jessica out of their minds. Ella continues to care for Melli, who misses her sister dearly but is also still a kid figuring life out for herself. Lux goes away to Texas, then comes back and appears to have a new girlfriend, though he can’t stop contemplating his guilt with regards to Jessica’s disappearance.

What takes place is not altogether uninteresting, and it’s both well-acted and skillfully crafted — the widescreen cinematography of Gregory Oke (Aftersun) is rich in detail and warmth — but is it enough to fill an entire movie? Hitchcock famously said that “some films are slices of life, mine are slices of cake.” Everytime could have probably used more cake, and perhaps some icing and sprinkles, so much does it tease at the kind of conflicts it never delivers.

The film nonetheless takes a truly unexpected turn during a third act set at the same seaside resort in Tenerife that the family had visited on previous vacations. After they arrive, some of the things we’ve been witnessing — bizarre resonances between past and present, everyday reality and virtual reality (in the form of a Minecraft-style game), home movies and contemporary events — begin to make, well, not complete sense, but at least to serve a purpose.

What that purpose is shouldn’t be spoiled for those who want to give Everytime a chance. Suffice it to say that Wollner’s understated drama offers a solution that feels too good to be true, as if the death faced by Ella, Melli and Lux was so hard for them to accept, they decide to ditch logic altogether. The closing scenes are staged with disquieting aplomb, lending meaning and mystery to this chronicle of a family that cannot get over a devastating loss, to the point that they prefer to believe the unbelievable.    

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Kennedy Center Ordered To Pay Jazz Musician More Than $250,000

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The Kennedy Center is being ordered to pay more than $250,000 in attorneys fees and costs to jazz musician Chuck Redd, who was sued after he backed out of a performance when Donald Trump‘s name was added to the arts institution.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Tanya M. Jones Bosier ruled that the center owes Redd $252,479.70, about $6,000 less than he sought in legal and other costs.

Shortly after the center’s board voted in December to add Trump’s name, Redd was among the musicians and artists who canceled performances. He was scheduled to perform at a free Christmas Eve “jazz jam,” but informed the center that he was backing out because he disagreed with the name change. He also emailed a statement to the Associated Press explaining his reason for canceling.

The center sued Redd for breach of contract, with the lawsuit citing a morals clause, claiming that he “chose to abuse the public forum provided to him by the center in order to make a political statement.”

In June, the judge dismissed the center’s lawsuit against Redd, noting that he never signed a contract for the 2025 performance. She also sided with Redd’s contention that his conduct was protected under the D.C. Anti-SLAPP Act.

“Notably, the Center acknowledged at the Hearing that multiple artists canceled their performances leading to the cancelation of the Jazz Jam in its entirety, and Redd acknowledged that he is the only performer to his knowledge to have made a public statement and be sued thereafter,” the judge wrote.

A Kennedy Center spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment. In a filing last month, the center’s legal team called the proposed costs “nothing short of astonishing. It is out of all proportion to the issue at stake, the non-complexity of case, the experience needed to handle it, and most importantly, the work needed to defend it.”

In a separate case, a federal judge ordered the center to remove Trump’s name from the building and other materials by June. A tarp now covers part of the facade of the structure, concealing the original name sans that of the president, but the judge has ordered a status update after the board meets again this month.

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Why Julie Andrews Won’t Return for ‘Princess Diaries 3’

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Julie Andrews is confirming that she will not appear in Princess Diaries 3.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter alongside her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton about their new children’s book Shy, the actress explained why she doesn’t see herself returning for the third film with Anne Hathaway.

“I think the absolute truth is that I think I’m really past all that now,” Andrews told THR. “I’m not completely retired, but it’s a different kind of work that I do these days — [writing] books, and I do a lot of recording of podcasts and voiceovers. But truly, I don’t think I should be a part of it.”

Though Andrews says it’s “still lovely to be working on things,” she prefers not doing work “necessarily on camera.”

“It isn’t that I’m not enthusiastic for it. It’s just that I really don’t feel I should be part of it now,” she explained.

When asked what she’d like to see the third film explore, Andrews said she wasn’t sure but noted Hathaway is older now too from the second film.

“Actually don’t know. I think it proceeds from the second Princess Diaries. It moves on, but by now Annie too is a little older than she was when she did it. I’m interested to see what Meg [Cabot] and Annie and everybody comes up with,” she said.

The original Princess Diaries film recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. When asked what surprises her the most about its longevity all these years later, Andrews told THR, “I’ve not really given it thought that way. I mean, I’m thrilled, and it was well-made by dear Garry Marshall, who was the sweetest director you could imagine and funny and talented and considerate. So it was a very enjoyable film to make.”

It was announced in 2024 that a third film will see Anne Hathaway reprise her role as Mia Thermopolis, Queen of Genovia. For the third installment, Adele Lim (Crazy Rich AsiansJoy Ridewill direct the feature. Debra Martin Chase, one of the producers of the original, returns to produce. Naia Cucukov, who is Lim’s producing partner, is an executive producer, as is Melissa Stack. 

“The fairy tale continues,” Hathaway wrote on her Instagram back when the third film was initially announced.

“I read a script, and it was amazing. I told them not to send anymore, because I love it so much,” Princess Diaries author Cabot told THR of the film. “They don’t like it when you tell people what’s gonna happen yet. So I was like, ‘Better not send me any more scripts!’”  

Despite the third film being recently announced, Cabot told THR that discussions to return to The Princess Diaries universe never really stopped: “It has been in discussions for a really long time. There have been a lot of scripts, and I think this one that I most recently read is my favorite. Fingers crossed that’s the one they’re going to use, but it’s a really fun idea, and I’m 100 percent behind it.” 

During a recent appearance on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy, Hathaway was asked by host Andy Cohen for an update on the film. However, she confirmed things have paused amid her pregnancy.

“I’m busy making baby No. 3 and that has sort of taken the place of knowing exactly when I can make Princess Diaries 3,” Hathaway said. “But I can say I think we had a story breakthrough. I think we are moving in the right direction. The script that we were working on — we kind of had to start over with this new direction, which is not the update I think anybody wants, but we all feel really good that this is gonna be the one.”

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Taylor Swift To Be Inducted Into Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame

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Taylor Swift will be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame this year, the foundation announced today.

Swift is one of the songwriters revealed today by the Hall of Fame as the class of ’26 inductees. She is being inducted in the Contemporary Songwriter/Artists category alongside Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton and Phil Vassar. Lyle Lovett will be honored in the Veteran Songwriter/Artist category.

In the Contemporary Songwriters category are Jim Beavers, Shawn Camp, Rodney Clawson, Dallas Davidson, Marv Green, Lee Thomas Miller, Neil Thrasher and Chris Tompkins.

The full class of inductees will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame is considered one of the city’s highest musical honors. In a statement to the foundation, Swift said, “From the time I started writing songs as a child, I fixated on Nashville as the perfect place to be. I wanted to learn with and from the best and get to immerse myself in a community of storytellers, and thankfully Nashville turned out to be exactly what I’d dreamed of. A town that validated and prioritized hard work, determination and imagination. Where the writers show up to work every day even when the mysterious muses and the magic don’t. To be honored by this city I love so much is a beautiful thing, and I’m very grateful.”

The honor is Swift’s second Hall of Fame induction this year: In June she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York City, becoming the youngest female songwriter ever inducted into that organization. She attended the June 11 ceremony with fiancé Travis Kelce, with Steven Spielberg inducting her.

Founded in 1970, the nonprofit Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame has honored 254 songwriters over the decades, including Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Willie Nelson.

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