REVIEW: “The In Between” is No Valentine’s Day Treat
After surviving a car crash that killed her boyfriend Skylar (Kyle Allen), high schooler Tessa (Joey King) must find a way to move on. But, when Tessa begins to receive weird messages, she believes that Skylar is trying to reconnect with her from the beyond. Now, with the help of her friend Shannon (Celeste O’Connor), Tessa must find a way to reconnect with Skyler before it is too late and he is lost to her forever.
The In Between once again plays into on of the major fails in the angsty romance department, a toxic romance dressed up as a fairytale. Rather than create two characters who supported each other, they created characters that were, in reality, toxic for each other. When one lead is asking the other, “What about me? What am I supposed to do?’, when he/she is sharing big news that could change their life forever, that is a major red flag. It’s almost as though in this modern day that young adults cannot comprehend the idea of making things work, which we know not to be true at all. It was that exact moment in the film that turned me off from this movie, which is a shame because it had potential. The movie instead should of focused on the idea of Tessa learning how to love herself. Those scenes in the film, which were far and few between, captivated me. To see her battling with this inner struggle is something most young adults can relate to and should have been the real focus of the film.
King and Allen lead the movie and it is Allen that really shines in his role. He plays the supportive boyfriend, Skylar, with ease, and will have everyone swooning over him when all is said and done. King does well as Tessa, but becomes more and more unlikeable as the movie progresses. This has nothing to do with King’s performance, but everything to do with the writing. The writers crafted her character, in my opinion, as weak. Instead of focusing on her strengths, the writers chose to focus on her faults, which could of worked if they had shown her overcoming them. Alas, they did not.
O’Connor brings a sense of fun to a movie where it was sorely lacking. Her character Shannon has a lightness about her that brightens every scene that she is in. My only wish is that we had seen her in more scenes throughout the movie.
With its release set for Valentine’s Day weekend, I am not sure this is the movie that will get you in a lovey dovey mood. The characters aren’t exactly likeable, but the film does have its moments of romance. The moments are few and far between, but the movie mainly is a harsh reminder that sometimes love doesn’t last forever. I would suggest checking something else out this weekend.
Grade: D