After Ghost (1990), dozens of films tried to follow the success of this film, but not many succeeded. The In Between tries its luck by using a similar story concept. The In Between is a film directed by Arie Posin, starring young stars Joey King and Kyle Allen. The film was released on the Paramount+ platform in early February, and today it was released on the Netflix platform. So, is this film on the same level as Ghost?
Tessa (King) is a teenage girl who lives with her adoptive parents. A loner and photography-minded Tessa accidentally meet an attractive young man, Skylar (Allen). After this, they got closer. Unfortunately, a tragic accident happened, Skylar died, and Tessa was severely traumatized. In her sadness, Tessa felt the presence of her boyfriend near her. She also tried in any way to be able to communicate with Skylar.
Ghost may be too old-fashioned to watch for today’s young audience, but the stories are more or less the same. However, everything that is Ghost’s strength is inversely proportional to The In Between. In terms of storytelling, The In Between was interesting, using a flashback technique that makes the plot go back and forth throughout the film, before and after the accident. The images’ colour tones are also presented very well between the two main segments. One is bright (orange), and the other is sad (bluish). This is combined with a very well-established cinematography side. Unfortunately, its technical strength, including the performances the two main casts (King and Allen), could not lift the film.
One big note, the plot is predictable, and the conflict between Tessa and Sky towards the climax seems too forced. Many romance films are stuck at this moment to be able to force ending the story with one character suddenly being selfish. One more thing that is ridiculous is the excessive supernatural side. This weakens the chemistry of the story. The spirit (Sky) needs all the attention to attract Tessa’s (and other people’s) attention in all kinds of ways, and the process is absurd and unreasonable. For example, one car scene can kill many people in the process. What is this for? Why must it be so convoluted and so rude?
An inferior version of Ghost, The In Between is trapped in a metaphysical concept that is burdensome and coercive without being able to lead it into a touching drama story. Playing with the spirit realm and all its attributes is not an easy matter to write in a script. No one knows this for sure, nor can it be scientifically proven. The film’s point is not this, but the story’s concept is only an analogy of trauma or guilt. In the final scene, Tessa verbally explains all the facts of her suffering here, which is not an elegant way to close a film. Tessa’s portrait is more than enough to say that love/passion can overcome all problems.
