Inbetween Girl succeeds by embracing ambiguity. Through Angie’s video diaries and artistic output, the film captures the vulnerability of a teenager learning to prioritize the right things and, ultimately, learning to "speak her own name". It is a story about realizing that life isn't lived in the extremes of "misery and ecstasy," but in the complicated, beautiful shades of grey in between. Inbetween Girl — Mei Makino - In Review Online
One of the most profound aspects of the film is its subversion of the "rival girls" trope. Instead of making Sheryl (the girlfriend) a villain, the film develops a genuine, complex friendship between her and Angie. This relationship addresses the "made-up competition" between women and asks what it truly means for women to support each other, even when they are both flawed and making mistakes. Inbetween Girl
The title Inbetween Girl reflects Angie’s biracial identity and the feeling of never fully fitting into any one category. This liminality is a central theme: she is navigating her Chinese heritage while living in a predominantly white, religious school environment. The film avoids "flattening" these complex emotions, instead building "gradients of nuance" into a period of life often experienced as an emotional apocalypse. Inbetween Girl succeeds by embracing ambiguity
: Caught in the fallout of her parents' divorce, Angie feels disconnected from her busy mother and alienated by her father’s new life and girlfriend. Inbetween Girl — Mei Makino - In Review