Inbetween Girl (2021) review

Dir. Mei Makino

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★½

Mei Makino’s scrappy feature debut, Inbetween Girl, tells the story of Angie Chen (Emma Galbraith), a half-Asian/half-white 16-year-old, who has trouble finding her own way in Galveston. Her identity crisis stems from not feeling Asian (her father’s side), and then finds itself compounded when her folks, (KaiChow Lau and Liz Waters) announce they’ll be getting a divorce. Dad moves in with a Chinese woman her college-bound daughter. Angie’s teenage ennui gets worse.

Angie’s processing all of this when Liam (William Magnuson), her crush and the apple of all the girls’ eyes, appears outside of her bedroom window, of course unbeknownst to his girlfriend, Sherly (Emily Garrett). Sheryl is a fledgling Instagram influencer, but her Catholic upbringing negates any and all of Liam’s attempts at romance. As such, Liam wants a friends with benefits situation with Angie. Without many romantic options of her own, Angie goes along with it.

What she doesn’t foresee, however, is getting to know Sheryl, who — surprise — doesn’t live a life as perfectly curated as her IG photos. This further complicates sex with Liam, which was once carefree and inconsequential.

Makino portrays everything from Angie’s sexual awakening to her feelings of happiness, guilt, and shame through vivid illustrations, which Angie doodles in her spare-time. The result is lively, even if it’s aided by some occasionally intrusive voiceover that leads the film down a path of explaining too much. Conversely, the illustrations are what make Angie’s character feel lived-in, and her drawings provide the teen an additional dimension, a tender and artistic one at that.

Emma Galbraith is game as Angie, who Makino colors as a complicated teen, not only as likable, but fiercely watchable. Emily Garrett is also strong as Sheryl, armed with a warm smile and a face that’ll break your heart when she starts revealing more about herself. I also thoroughly appreciated KaiChow Lau’s performance as Angie’s father, who is gifted a strong scene at the end that evokes the kind of messiness that usually occurs when a typically stoic, reticent patriarch tries to impart wisdom and empathy for the first time in many moons.

Inbetween Girl finds itself a little sloppy with the details. Angie makes mention of her best friend, but she’s hardly a part of the overall film. Liam reveals himself as unsavory and untrustworthy so early in their entanglement that it’s hard to believe Angie wouldn’t have cut him off earlier. And he just shows up at her window one night? Makino might’ve been a little high off John Hughes’ supply with that one. When Inbetween Girl breaks convention and lets Angie’s gentle illustrations and the scenic backdrop of Texas take the wheel is when the film really becomes a moving touchstone on the difficulties of adolescence, hardly ever a dull topic in the world of film.

Starring: Emma Galbraith, William Magnuson, Emily Garrett, KaiChow Lau, and Liz Waters. Directed by: Mei Makino.