The Sky Is Everywhere Parent Guide

“There were once two sisters who were not afraid of the dark because the dark was full of the other’s voice.” But when the older sister dies, the younger is left to face the world alone.

Crushed by the death of her sister, Lennie (Grace Kaufman) isn’t sure how she can continue to exist. Weighed down by her crushing grief for Bailey (Havana Rose Liu), Lennie can’t play her clarinet anymore and has lost her desire to apply to Juilliard. Instead, she writes notes to Bailey on leaves and trees, listens to her voice mail message, hides in her closet, and wears her clothes.

Then two guys enter her life. Toby (Pico Alexander) was Bailey’s boyfriend and he and Lennie find solace in their shared grief. Joe (Jacques Colimon), a fellow musician in the school band, connects with Lennie over their shared passion for music. Now Lennie has to decide if she wants to move forward or hold on to the past…

Dealing with death is a common subject for teen films. The Sky Is Everywhere treads a familiar path but does so in a stylistically distinct manner. The sets, for starters, are unusually vivid, with Lennie living with her Gram (Cherry Jones) and Uncle Big (Jason Segel) in a brightly colored house surrounded by sprawling rose bushes and California redwoods. Where the movie really takes a turn for the weird is in the magical realism elements. At first, they just feel quirky, with weather reflecting Lennie’s mood, or musical notation floating down a hallway. Then it gets downright strange when the couple listen to music in the rose garden, only to have the roses twist and writhe around them, assuming human forms and behaving in a pseudo-sexual manner. Having Joe and Lennie spooning with rose branches is unlikely to seem romantic to most viewers.

Oddities aside, The Sky Is Everywhere offers some strong messages about the strength of family and the resilience that comes from close kinship bonds. It reminds us that we all make mistakes and that it’s possible to make amends and move forward. The story demonstrates that love, hope, and our own gifts make a brighter future possible, even when the worst thing we can imagine has happened. Unfortunately, these positive themes co-exist with some negative material. Uncle Big frequently smokes weed and is sometimes joined by Gram. Lennie imagines stars forming the shape of male genitalia, and there are several conversations where teenagers talk about sex.

Whether or not this film will appeal to adults or teens is highly dependent on personal tastes. If the negative content doesn’t bother you and if you can handle the deeply weird magical realism, there’s a heartfelt, exuberant story here. As the sun rises in Lennie’s life, she’s able to open her eyes to the joy of life – and that’s a perspective everyone can appreciate.