The In-Between (2019) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The film takes place across multiple locations, primarily in a coastal town and Providence, Rhode Island. Key settings include a hospital, the RISD campus, and an abandoned honeymooners hotel called The Empyrean. A dream-like Paris-inspired sequence also appears as part of Tessa's healing journey.

Foreshadowing: The Empyrean hotel functions as a nexus for memory and connection between the living and the past.

• setting
• locations
• coastal town
• Providence
• RISD
• Empyrean hotel

The story is set in the present day with a non-linear narrative structure. Flashbacks occur at various points: 182 days before the accident, 11 days before, and 5 days before. The present-day action is anchored by the RISD deadline in Providence.

Foreshadowing: The non-linear structure reflects how memories preserve love and shape identity.

• present day
• timeline
• non-linear
• flashbacks

The film explores three interconnected themes: Time & Memory, which examines how non-linear timelines preserve love after loss; Love & Healing, investigating whether romantic connection can persist beyond physical presence; and Abandonment & Family, focusing on Tessa's foster care history and her journey toward forming secure attachments.

Foreshadowing: Photographs serve as anchors that tether Tessa to Skylar and to what could have been.

• themes
• memory
• love
• healing
• abandonment
• family

Tessa is the protagonist, a photographer who channels her grief into imagery. She was raised in foster care and is emotionally guarded, with a hesitancy to fully trust and commit. Her art becomes a medium for processing loss, and throughout the story she learns to express her feelings and pursue connection.

Foreshadowing: Her past in foster care informs her fear of commitment and expression.

• Tessa
• photographer
• protagonist
• foster care

Skylar is Tessa's romantic counterpart whose presence lingers across time. He inspires hope and pushes Tessa toward openness. His decision to leave for Oregon to be with his father tests their bond, and his memory drives the present as a beacon of possibility and healing.

Foreshadowing: His memory becomes a beacon of possibility and healing for Tessa.

• Skylar
• romantic interest
• memory

The Empyrean is an eerie, abandoned hotel for honeymooners that serves as a central location in the film. It functions as a nexus for memory and connection between the living and the past, playing a key role in the story's exploration of grief and supernatural concepts.

Foreshadowing: The hotel becomes a space where Tessa can connect with memories of Skylar.

• Empyrean
• hotel
• abandoned
• honeymooners

Photography serves as a central metaphor throughout the film. Tessa uses her camera to process grief and preserve memory. Photographs become anchors that tether her to Skylar and to what could have been, serving as vessels for emotional truth and helping her navigate loss.

Foreshadowing: The RISD deadline and her photography work anchor the present-day action.

• photography
• camera
• memory
• grief

The film uses a non-linear structure with flashbacks at 182 days before, 80 days after, 11 days before, and 5 days before the accident. This structure probes how memories preserve love and shape identity, even after death, reflecting the film's theme of time and memory.

Foreshadowing: The structure mirrors how grief works, returning to moments that define us.

• non-linear
• timeline
• flashbacks
• structure

Tessa's history with foster and adoptive parents shapes her fear of commitment and expression. Her journey exposes the complexity of family bonds and the possibility of healing within imperfect relationships. The support from her adoptive parents helps her choose life and connection.

Foreshadowing: Her adoptive mother's critical nature frames the struggle to form secure attachments.

• foster care
• adoption
• family
• abandonment

Doris is the author of the book 'The In Between' that provides a narrative guide for Tessa. Her presence underscores the power of memory and storytelling, suggesting that stories can become bridges across time and help interpret loss.

Foreshadowing: The book serves as a guide for Tessa's journey through grief.

• Doris
• author
• book
• storytelling

The film has a bittersweet tone, balancing themes of loss with poetic softness. While it deals with serious topics like abandonment, foster care, and near-death experiences, the approach is gentle rather than harsh. The ending is bittersweet: Tessa chooses life and pursues her art, but her reunion with Skylar remains a dreamlike memory.

Foreshadowing: The ghostly romance element creates inherent tension between hope and loss.

• tone
• bittersweet
• emotional
• grief