The In Between follows Tessa, a teenage photographer who has spent much of her childhood moving through foster homes. She lives in a coastal American town and keeps people at a distance because she expects love to end badly. She meets Skylar at a French movie screening, and their short romance grows through dates, family talks, and shared interests. A car crash kills Skylar and badly injures Tessa, so the film follows her grief as she tries to reach him in a strange space between life and death. The tone is soft, romantic, sad, and sometimes supernatural, with a hopeful ending about healing and choosing to keep living.
The main audience-visible woke element is brief LGBTQ+ representation outside the central romance. Two high school boys kiss in a hot tub, and a woman says that she has loved a woman. These moments are clear but short, and they do not drive Tessa's choices, her bond with Skylar, or the main conflict. The story mainly supports love, memory, family support, artistic growth, and moving past fear after a sudden death.
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Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The In Between.
Woke representation / casting
Not present. The film has a mixed supporting cast, but it does not make that mix an identity statement. The casting fits a modern American teen story and does not clearly go beyond what the setting allows.
0%
Woke political dialogue
Not present. The dialogue deals with grief, love, family trouble, school, and the afterlife. It does not argue for a political program or use activist slogans.
0%
Identity-driven story themes
A brief scene shows two high school boys kissing in a hot tub. Another line has a woman say that she has loved a woman. These moments are visible LGBTQ+ content, but they are side details and do not shape Tessa’s central romance, grief, or decision to live.
10%
Western institutional / cultural critique
Not present. The film shows Tessa’s foster care past, family separation, and reckless behavior, but it does not turn them into a critique of men, family, religion, capitalism, or Western institutions. Its adult characters mostly guide and support her.
0%
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. The movie is an original story adapted from Marc Klein’s novel. No established franchise character or real historical figure is changed for an identity message.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Not present. The reviewed news, viewer, and review coverage did not show a meaningful anti-woke complaint about DEI, identity politics, or activist messaging. Public comments focused on the romance, grief, acting, and whether the story was too cheesy.
0%
Creator track record context
Joey King has publicly supported LGBTQ youth, Black Lives Matter, and gun-control activism. Robbie Brenner produced Barbie and other projects with social themes. Arie Posin and Marc Klein have no high-confidence activist or DEI record in the cached context. This mixed record is background and is not echoed in the film’s story.
20%
Production
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