In romantic sci-fi drama, The In Between, teenager Tessa Benson is left distraught after her boyfriend, Skylar, dies in a tragic car accident. Tessa survives the accident, but the grief over Skylar’s death becomes unbearable, and as she recovers from her injuries in hospital, she dreams of her lost love.

On the day she is due to be discharged, Tessa receives a text message from Skylar, which appears to have been delayed, having been sent prior to his death. However, after speaking to a fellow patient called Doris, she starts to question if there is more to the text message than it seems.  

Doris tells Tessa that for a brief period of time, before spirits pass over to the other side, they linger in a place known as the in between. Doris suggests it is possible Skylar’s spirit currently resides in the in between, and he is trying to make contact with Tessa before he completely passes over.

After initially dismissing the idea, Tessa leans into the concept of the in between and attempts to make contact with Skylar. She wants to say one last goodbye to her lost love, before it is too late, leading to a potential reunion that exists beyond mortal constraints.

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Directed by Arie Posin and starring Joey King and Kyle Allen, The In Between was released in the US back in February, via Paramount+. However, for those of us living in the UK, who don’t have access to Paramount+ (yet), the movie arrives on Netflix today.

If you’re a fan of romantic dramas, and you’re emotionally strong enough to cope with a love story steeped in tragedy from the off-set, then this is a film you may wish to take a look at. I invested my time in this film this morning, and found that The In Between was time well spent.

Image: ©Paramount
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While The In Between is a story of grief and heartache, it is also very much a tale of connection, relationships, and love which pushes past boundaries. The majority of the movie is told through flashbacks, with a great deal of time spent on showing how Tessa and Skylar’s relationship developed prior to the accident, and so in many ways it is a celebration of their love.

As such, while the movie is designed to tug at the ol’ heartstrings, due to the tragic element in the picture, it is also a film which is keen to explore the beauty of love. It highlights the highs and lows of falling for someone, the deep bond that can be shared between two people, and the small, yet incredibly important moments which can mean so much when a relationship first gets off the ground.

The whole film looks at the magic that is love. It takes the good stuff, as well as the not-so good stuff, juxtapositions it against tragedy, and shows how important it is to make the most of the time you are given, and not waste a second.

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Joey King and Kyle Allen take on the lead roles of Tessa and Skylar for The In Between, and both are well cast for this picture. King is able to convey a range of key emotions as the heartbroken Tessa and her journey is one which packs a punch.

Meanwhile, Allen is perfectly suited as the all-American boyfriend, who she falls in love with. He is incredibly likeable, and it’s not difficult to see why she falls for him.

Allen has recently been cast to play the role of He-Man in a proposed Masters of the Universe movie for Netflix, and if the project comes to fruition, I have faith that he’ll bring something special to the role. He has a strong screen presence in The In Between, and paired here with Joey King the duo sell the heck out of this romance.

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With this being a direct-to-streaming title, the budget is relatively low on The In Between, and this means at times the movie does feel a little like a TV movie-of-the-week kind of thing. The sci-fi/supernatural element of this story is also mild at best, so don’t expect to watch something with top notch special effects or a great deal of time spent in the afterlife, as this is not what this movie is ultimately about.

This is more of a teen drama kind of thing, which places its attention firmly in the direction of the love story. The film is very much interested in showing the developing relationship between Tessa and Skylar, with the supernatural element running second to this.  

But it’s good stuff. The In Between doesn’t hit the same emotional impact of a romantic movie such as Ghost (1990) for example, but if you are interested in this type of story, it should find you well.  

Rating: 3 out of 5.
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