After being blindsided by her parents’ sudden divorce, 16-year-old artistic, sardonic Angie Chen turns to secret hookups with popular jock Liam behind the back of his adored social media influencer girlfriend Sheryl.
For in-depth thoughts on Inbetween Girl, please see my colleague Tristian Evans’ review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
Inbetween Girl comes to Blu-Ray with a really stunning 1080p video presentation that looks as great as any modern movie should. The presentation provides a significant amount of depth on display, especially in the interior of Angie’s room and on the recreation field. The production design along with the fabrics of clothing provide crystal clear textural details. The image is clean with the nuanced color palette popping off the screen. The film employs nice splashes of bold colors within the production design and animated bits, which makes for a very striking image. The black levels are appropriately deep with no discernible digital noise. The flesh tones are natural with a magnificent amount of detail present in close-ups. This Blu-Ray is a top-tier representation of this movie.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a lovely DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that brings this material to life perfectly. There is very little in the way of hard-hitting moments outside, but the environmental sounds of the world engage the surround speakers in a really effective way. When the characters are out and about in the world, there are some really nice ambient details that flesh out the setting. Dialogue is the driving force of the film, and it always comes through crisp and clear without being clipped by any competing sounds. This is a film that utilizes music really well from the great collection of songs to the score, all of which really shines on this disc. The music in the film fills the speakers in a wonderful, well-balanced way. Certain sound effects engage the low end of the track in a way that provides some welcome texture to the proceedings. The audio track more than gets the job done all around. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Original Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.
- Deleted Scenes: There are three minutes of unused material provided here including additional moments between Angie and her parents and a scene of Liam apologizing.
- Cast & Crew Q&A: A nearly 44-minute virtual Q&A courtesy of the Austin Film Society with illustrator Larissa Akhmetova; cinematographer Ivy Chiu; actors Emma Galbraith, William Magnuson and Emily Garrett; editor/co-producer Connor Pickens; producer Matt Stryker; and writer/director Mei Makino. In this conversation, you learn about the origins of the project, the casting process, what they wanted to bring to this film that you typically do not find in coming-of-age stories, the artwork in the film and much more that is very illuminating.
- Actor Auditions: A nearly 22-minute look at auditions from pretty much every major performer in the film with different configurations and scenes brought to life.
Final Thoughts
Inbetween Girl is a really welcome take on the coming-of-age genre, as it provides a perspective which has long been a rarity on screen. Writer/director Mei Makino brings so much heart, humor and authenticity to this tale that makes it stand apart from what has been deemed as disposable on streaming services in recent years. The entire cast inhabits these characters really well, and the story construction really keeps the film moving. Utopia and Vinegar Syndrome have released an outstanding new Blu-Ray featuring a top-notch A/V presentation and a fine selection of supplemental features. This is a can’t-miss if you love the genre. Highly Recommended
Inbetween Girl is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Utopia and Vinegar Syndrome have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.