Everything in Between

In cinemas now, Everything In Between is a short feature film with a big heart infused with feelings of life and death and concludes with an ending that is anything but a traditional rom-com. 

Suffering from depression and with no interest in life, 18-year-old Jason Knight (Jordan Dulieu) stands on the edge of a Sydney clifftop where he contemplates putting an end to his privileged yet meaningless existence. Meanwhile, Liz (Freya Benjamin), a new-age traveler from San Francisco, lands in town on the latest leg of her endless backpacking adventures around the globe. A sliding door moment brings this unlikely pair together, and a deep and immediate bond develops. 

Also known as Jay, Jason is an only child from a wealthy family and has been in and out of therapy since high school. Jay fails to develop any close relationships or friendships at school. His father (Martin Crewes) is misogynistic and disengaged, and his mother (Gigi Edgley) is oppressive and frequently day-drinks meaning Jay has no one to turn to. That is until he meets vibrant Liz, who manages to crawl under his skin and open him up to the essence of life. 

As an orphan, the normally free-spirited dream girl Liz faces the possibility of confronting death alone when her zest for life is brought to abrupt end after she is diagnosed with a rare, life-threatening illness known as coccidioidomycosis. But it is the inexperienced teen, Jay, who must learn to juggle the feelings of being a protector while learning to give her much needed space. 

A layered and mature coming-of-age film, Nadia Sha’s Everything In Between is set perfectly within the juxtaposition of one character who no longer wants to exist while the other fights to live. The conflict between both the spiritual and scientific is shallowly explored throughout the movie, with no conclusion reached in what is an existential topic (suicide). The 90-minute film does border on the old-fashioned cliché that perhaps a person may be happier if they merely find someone to love. However, there are some astute observations throughout what is a traumatic, provocative, yet ultimately uplifting saga. 

Everything in Between
In cinemas now
View Trailer