Clare Sellers
In a beautiful tale of love and loss, two teenagers form a budding relationship, until they’re involved in a car accident and one of them doesn’t make it, leaving the other in a spiral of grief and unsaid emotions.
The In Between hit Netflix this week and UK audiences were finally given the chance to deep dive into the tragic romance between Skylar (Kyle Allen) and Tessa (Joey King) in this inspiring film.
It’s a side we haven’t seen much of from Joey King, as the poster girl for Netflix’s ‘Kissing Booth’ trilogy there was a chance of falling back into the same character archetype. However, King flexes her acting abilities in this new film, showing that she is more than meets the eye, and truly is the backbone of this new tale.
Lesser known Kyle Allen proves himself worthy of the lead role, displaying incredible acting range in each scene he delivers. After starring in West Side Story last year it seems Allen is on the up in Hollywood.
Tessa is obsessed with photography, incapable of saying ‘I love you’ and struggles with abandonment issues. Skylar is an athlete and avid language speaker who is struggling with the idea of his parents divorce due to his undying faith in love.
Watching the pair is exciting and, at times, frustrating as they fumble about trying to find their footing in a new relationship that is guaranteed to be a love story for the ages.
“We are whisked away on a journey of discovery as Tessa attempts to reach out and contact him.”
Flipping between present day and a changing number of days before the accident, the audience is immediately let in on the fact that there has been a car accident and Tessa is the surviving party. We watch her seek guidance from a spiritual patient at the hospital who offers some comedic relief to the audience.
Producing a perfect blend of science fiction and romance, Skylar is thought to be sending messages and signs from a place between death and the afterlife called The In Between. We are whisked away on a journey of discovery as Tessa attempts to reach out and contact him with the help of her best friend.
Comedic seances and failed attempts to produce results have Tessa torn, but when her GPS magically begins navigating itself to a strange destination she decides to follow it and finds herself face to face with the spiritual patient she snubbed first time around.
It’s exhilarating and fast-paced, leaving the audience on the edge of their seat wondering if Tessa will find Skylar’s spirit in time.
“In true sci-fi romance fashion, the car is possessed by the spirit of Skylar.”
Armed with knowledge, Tessa begins visiting all of their special places and taking images of herself, but is stopped short when a problem with her heart causes her to be admitted back to hospital.
With time running out before Skylar must leave the In Between, she enlists the help of her best friend to sneak her out of hospital and drive her to their final destination. In true sci-fi romance fashion, the car is possessed by the spirit of Skylar and drives recklessly to the scene of the crash that ruined everything.
An emotional scene sees Tessa collapse and take spirit form to witness her best friend cradling her still body as she waits for an ambulance to arrive, its hard not to cry while the girl screams for help.
The heart-breaking reunion of Skylar and Tessa is only upstaged by the almost reunion that occurred when she found him at an abandoned hotel they once snuck into together. Separated by some mystical force, I dare you not to cry while Skylar slams his fist against the force trying to breakthrough to be with the woman he loves.
After the built up sorrow and tension, seeing the lovers embrace one another again is a beautiful moment. Skylar explains the In Between and the pair do everything they wish they could have done together, seeing them reunited is everything the audience has pined for.
That is until Tessa finds herself looking at the image of herself laying in a hospital bed on the brink of dying and has to make the ultimate difficult decision, to stay or to go.
“A portfolio that features a subject she’s ignored for far too long, herself.”
The conversation between the couple is painful and tear-jerking, Tessa explains how her love for him proves to her that she needs to live, to know that she’s capable of love makes life worth living. Skylar is incredibly torn but lets her go with the knowledge that love never dies, a fitting moral to this story.
Back in her physical body, Tessa lives a new and improved life thanks to Skylar’s wisdom, she can tell people she loves them, and she believes in herself enough to apply for photography school with a portfolio that features a subject she’s ignored for far too long, herself.
A sad and beautiful story with fantastic casting and breath-taking visuals, this new Netflix spectacular is sure to be a hit.
Featured image courtesy of Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image licence found here.
claresellers
I am a 20-year-old multimedia journalism student in my final year studying at the University of Salford