Review: Coming-of-age drama 'The Sky is Everywhere' is imbued with magic realism

The Sky is Everywhere
4 out of 5 Stars
Director: Josephine Decker
Writers: Jandy Nelson
Starring: Grace Kaufman, Havana Rose Liu, Jacques Colimon, Pico Alexander
Genre: Drama
Rated: PG-13 for language, sexual references and drug use

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) – Synopsis: High school senior Lennie has always lived in the shadow of Bailey, her older sister. When Bailey dies, Lennie is forced to redefine her place in the world.

Review: There is something about being a naïve teen that imbues life with a distorted sense of wonder and tragedy. “The Sky is Everywhere” is told from the perspective of Lennie (Grace Kaufman), an imaginative teenage girl, who loses sense of herself when her older sister, Bailey (Havana Rose Liu), dies. Lennie had always been Bailey’s younger sister. Now she is “just Lennie.”

Lennie is a talented musician with the potential of going to Juilliard. Bailey took all of Lennie’s confidence with her when she died. Lennie can’t play music. Lennie doesn’t even know if she wants to play music.

Then there’s Joe Fontaine (Jacques Colimon), the dreamy guitarist who would be the ideal boyfriend if only Lennie was as talented and as Bailey was. And then there is Toby Shaw (Pico Alexander), Bailey’s boyfriend, who is so hurt and confused by loss that he takes an interest in Lennie. Lennie, the girl who now must be herself and her sister. Unable to untangle her emotions, Lennie writes poetry on tree leaves and scraps of paper and releases them out into the world.

Director Josephine Decker plays with the magic realism of Jandy Nelson’s screenplay adaptation of her own novel. It’s not as exaggerated as Tim Burton’s “Big Fish” or as dramatic as J.A. Boyona’s “A Monster Calls,” but the magic is there lingering in the colors of every frame. I don’t think “The Sky is Everywhere” works if we aren’t seeing it through Lennie’s heart. She believes the sky is falling. She just lost her sister. Sisters aren’t supposed to die so young. Lennie lost her mom too. So, no matter what counter argument or evidence to the contrary you might have, Lennie knows the sky is falling.

Lennie might not be wrong.

She is at a point in her life where her next decision could dictate everything that comes next. There are good and unhealthy decisions that could be made. Sometimes Lennie makes bad choices. Sometimes Lennie just runs away.

I love the lyrical value of “The Sky is Everywhere.” It, like the poetry of its protagonist, takes us to a unique, strange, and beautiful place. There’s danger there and Lennie is not prepared to face the challenges that await her. She doesn’t see the minefield that is Toby. She can’t believe that Joe would see anything in her. She can’t let her sister rest.

“The Sky is Everywhere” is a wondrous film that you must experience to understand. Comparisons? It doesn’t feel as weighty as HBO’s “Euphoria,” as realistic as “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” or as universal as “Eighth Grade.” A psychedelic “Lady Bird?” No, that’s not quite right. It’s kind of its own thing and I’m here for that.