The In Between Review: Joey King & Kyle Allen's tragic romance is corny yet tearjerkingly emotional

The In Between 

The In Between Cast: Joey King, Kyle Allen 

The In Between Director: Arie Posin

Streaming Platform: Netflix 

The In Between Stars: 3/5

"What is grief, if not love persevering", is a dialogue from WandaVision that seems most profound when it comes to capturing the emotional turmoil of dealing with lost love. There's no right or wrong for how one may deal with their grief and it surely doesn't come with a manual. While some try to move on by looking ahead at their future by carrying a box of memories with them, there are some who need the comfort of the past until they get to say their final goodbyes. In Joey King and Kyle Allen's new film, The In Between, a young couple's romantic journey hits a tragic roadblock and it makes you wonder, about the true nature of love and its effect on us, when it is triggered by grief.

The In Between follows Tessa (Joey King) and Skylar's (Kyle Allen) summer romance that ends up in a nightmare after the latter passes away in an accident. A heartbroken Tessa is expected to pick up the pieces of her life after losing her boyfriend in an accident that she escaped unhurt. Unable to fathom the situation, Tessa begins to believe that Skylar is sending her messages from the beyond as she tries to find ways to connect with her lost lover. In the meantime, Tessa's flashbacks take us through her and Skylar's sweet love story that begins with a random meeting in an empty theatre where he offers to translate the dialogues of a French film (Betty Blue) that is playing without subtitles. 

Even as the duo find themselves on opposite sides in their understanding of the concept of love, they are drawn to each other in the most organic way. No one who has loved goes unhurt or unchanged and hence even as Tessa and Skylar's relationship has its days in the sun as well as the ones where they find themselves questioning it, nothing keeps them apart for long until they are tragically forced to deal with a separation of life and death.

 For Tessa, who is an adopted child and a talented photographer who is used to being a spectator in most of her own life as well, her camera lens is a way of capturing the unseen. Tessa's belief about Skylar trying to communicate with her becomes stronger after she finds mysterious photos that disappear after developing. A bigger gesture further convinces not only her but also her best friend that Skylar is sending out messages after INXS’ Never Tear Us Apart track, which she and Skylar loved, starts playing on cellphones in the middle of an exam. 

The In Between ticks all boxes when it comes to being a sappy young adult romance and while it may not have something novel to offer, I can't help but notice that it gets increasingly moving in parts and possibly King and Allen's easy on the eyes chemistry deserves credit for that. In many ways, Joey King's Tessa is no different than Wanda Maximoff, who wants to believe that lost love has a way of coming back to us, of course, both don't realise the cost at which it comes. If in the case of Wanda, it's at the stake of the lives of an entire Westview community, for Tessa, it's an added thorn in her already withdrawn life where trust doesn't come easy. An aloof Tessa whose life in foster care has made her an emotionally distanced person, expressing love is hard and when she does get the chance to do that with Skylar, it doesn't end up well. Although the movie does make you realise the key to both mending a broken heart and refilling an empty one is love, sometimes in different forms and through different relationships. 

The concept of the afterlife has found various versions in Hollywood through the years and when laced into romantic dramas, there have been films like P.S. I Love You, Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore's Ghost that have taken different routes, all the while telling similar stories and The In Between is no different that way. It doesn't have a logical explanation for all the fantasy buildup that it creates with Skylar's otherworldly communication. In a young adult romance, you are expected to simply feel its emotional connection and screenwriter Marc Klein and director Arie Posin never lose sight of that. They are not trying to make a film that will leave you deeply impacted. The film's best bits lie in the flashbacks as we witness Tessa and Skylar's summer romance as they discuss Dante's Inferno and have rowing dates. Klein's strangest twist to the story though is its ending as the film shifts its focus from being a tragic romance to a journey of self-discovery. 

ALSO READ: The Kissing Booth star Joey King shares her favourite scene from the movie

Joey King who has been the face of The Kissing Booth franchise continues to bring her charming presence to the screen with this film. As for Kyle Allen who was recently seen in West Side Story and will soon be seen in He-Man, the actor hits the brief perfectly of being the dewy-eyed "Love never dies", rowing champion boyfriend. King and Allen's sweet chemistry keeps you invested in this not-so-novel tale for the most part. 

The In Between is one of those films that is a perfect pick to indulge in when you want to dig in on that tub of ice cream and have a bit of a cry to let those pent up emotions out. For fans of sappy romances, while there are a plethora of choices for you out there, if there's something new you wish to discover, this film won't be a disappointing choice, in keeping with the genre's requirements.