2548. In Family I Trust (2019)

Starring: Clara Lago, Álex García, Alexandra Jiménez

Director: Patricia Font

Running Time: 97 mins

In Family I Trust (Gente que viene y bah) is a Spanish film about a hard-working city architect who, after being cheated on by her boyfriend, returns to her family home to rediscover herself.

Although it features a meaningful and positive message about the importance of family, In Family I Trust unfortunately takes a rather generic route throughout, failing to capitalise on any emotional depth, and instead playing out as a formulaic romantic comedy-drama. Despite generally likable performances across the board, the film lacks any real intrigue or unpredictability, and with equally uninspiring humour, it doesn’t make for the most entertaining watch at any point.

Let’s start off on the bright side, though. As generic and predictable as the story is here, the performances do at least have a degree of likability and genuine heart to them. In the lead role, Clara Lago is engaging from the start, and her downfall after being cheated on by her boyfriend is portrayed both convincingly, as well as without any melodrama that’s often typical of the story.

Instead, she returns home to her family, and while there are the inevitable tensions that come with reuniting with family members for the first time in a while, she doesn’t aim to take centre stage, instead struggling with her problems without letting them destroy her own family, a part of the story that’s made all the more likable and engaging thanks to Lago.

Not many of the other characters have much depth to them, although supporting players including Alexandra Jiménez and Paula Malia are equally energetic and entertaining throughout. On the flipside, a lot of the male characters, particularly the love interests portrayed by Álex García and Fernando Guallar are far from the most charming performances you’ll ever see, and while they fit in well with some of the movie’s more well-meaningly light-hearted vibes, they really don’t add much to it as a whole.

And that’s where my issues with In Family I Trust really start to come in. In general, this is an enjoyably fluffy movie, and its well-meaning ideals about the importance of family are nice to see, but it really doesn’t try that hard to make anything of it.

Instead, the movie takes the easy route from the start in the vein of a simple romantic comedy-drama, with a painfully predictable arc that follows Clara Lago as she picks herself up from having been cheated on. The periods of the movie where it’s more about the family’s relationship have got a bit more heart and humour, but the romantic side of the story – which dominates the early and latter acts – is really boring, and makes the whole film feel frustratingly generic.

I admired its good intentions, but if you watched this movie without having seen the title, you would think of it far more as a romantic movie than one about family, and that’s what’s so disappointing, given that the family side of the story, when it does take centre stage, is much better.

Overall, I was rather disappointed with In Family I Trust. Despite a very likable lead performance from Clara Lago, the film proves a frustratingly generic and predictable affair, and even though it has admirably good-natured intentions throughout, its portrayal of the core romance as the main plot gives it a painfully formulaic feel, and that’s why I’m giving it a 6.7.