The main takeaway from 2021 was that A24 would be one of the flagship studios going forward. With plenty of fan favorites, they helped to define the post-lockdown theatrical experience and presented new alternative release strategies. This includes a partnership with AppleTV+, which featured one of their most acclaimed films of the year with The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021). As they started another year, they would return to the fledgling streamer with a young adult novel adaptation and a director known for experimental cinema. The Sky is Everywhere (2022) had the perfect formula for A24 success given its blend of melancholic subject matter and subversive tone. While it may have not been a hit on par with what came before, it set the bar for what was to come.
The story begins with the novel’s author Jandy Nelson. She wanted to write about someone experiencing a loss not dissimilar from her personal experiences. This lead to her taking diligent notes, often on napkins or loose parchment, while doing everything she could to create a meaningful story. She claims to have written four hours most days with some approaching closer to sixteen. The one caveat is that none of the characters are based on real people. The final product was published in 2010 and was featured on multiple end of year lists. Her career was off to a great start.
While it would be close to a decade until the adaptation, there were talks almost from the beginning. Upon acquiring the rights in 2015, Warner Bros. began to look for a filmmaker to take on the project. The news eventually reached Josephine Decker, who claimed to have bothered her agent as early as 2016 wanting to take it on. She believed that the intentions of the story matched her personal directing style, which was experimental and introspective. At the time she was working on her breakout hit Madeline’s Madeline (2018) which would provide her more career opportunities.
Things began to change around 2020. The larger world was succumbing to the Covid-19 pandemic and with that a need to explore the personal grief of loss. This timed perfectly with Decker’s personal life. Not only had she lost loved ones, but she found the Shirley Jackson biopic Shirley (2020) to have been an overbearing task and needed something lighter. She returned to Nelson’s book, finding the mix of dark subject matter and creative style to be compelling. Upon getting the project greenlit, she would call her mom and say that she was making a movie that she was going to love… it was about death. Describing herself as feeling like a teenager who needed to work through her issues, Decker was very enthusiastic about the potential.
The film was shot in October 2020 during lockdown. The setting was in Eureka, CA which brought serenity along with personal anxiety. California was in the middle of wildfires, thus making their nature sequences more dicey. For as beautiful as everything was, the fear of needing to flee remained prominent. Lead star Grace Kaufman claimed that she loved working in Eureka and that the massive trees made her feel more connected to the larger world. Overall, the cast and crew had positive feedback regarding the production.
While Decker was faithful to the novel, she would change the ending. The story featured many fantastical elements that required more interpretation. This included watching dance numbers set to classical music, sometimes with CGI elements such as flowers developing throughout. It’s among Decker’s most creatively ambitious works to date and found her willing to embrace elements like Nelson’s description in the text of comparing life to L. Frank Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz.” As a result, she concluded by paying homage to the title, which included a scene set in an aerial location.
At some point, A24 would acquire the rights along with distribution. Despite starting a partnership in 2020 with AppleTV+, this would be only the second film they co-produced following On the Rocks (2020). Given Decker’s rising profile, many were curious to see how the young adult adaptation would do on the streamer. It was a different audience than most A24 films and provided a chance to expand the potential. Not only that, but the pandemic presented a level of grief that encouraged filmmakers to explore the subject matter through a creative lens. The timing seemed perfect.
For the most part, it’s hard to judge how successful The Sky Is Everywhere became. While it wouldn’t match the cultural awareness of The Tragedy of Macbeth or On the Rocks, it continued Decker’s reputation as a visually creative and experimental filmmaker. Despite enjoying the process, she considers it a respite from her darker and more challenging works.
The overall success could be seen in the reviews. According to critics aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, the film earned a favorable 64% rating. Among the positive feedback was M.N. Miller of Ready Steady Cut who noted, “An operatic, endlessly creative, and breathtaking visual poem of grief.” Marya E. Gates of The Playlist shared the sentiment when claiming, “While The Sky Is Everywhere can’t quite shed its YA origins, the tropes of the genre are expertly manicured by Decker’s prowess for striking imagery until they glow with a sleek art house patina.” The few who disagreed included Rebecca Johnson of Film Focus Online who critiqued, “Unfortunately, The Sky Is Everywhere is another middling young adult novel adaptation that fails to pack the punch that it attempts. Though the story is lacklustre, it may be worth watching on a rainy day for its visuals and promising performances.” All in all, the film received modest feedback that was high praise nor outright dismissal.
If the film had any success, it hasn’t been chronicled online. There’s a chance that it has endeared itself to some, though it hasn’t earned a viral reputation like many of A24’s more noteworthy titles. As of this publication, Decker hasn’t announced another film. She followed up The Sky is Everywhere by returning to her other passion, which was experimental theater. It’s likely that she will be seen again someday, though when remains uncertain. Meanwhile, it wouldn’t be long until A24 reteamed with AppleTV+ with the Jennifer Lawrence drama Causeway (2022).
Like most early year releases from A24, The Sky is Everywhere is at best an interesting offshoot that’s unlikely to be the most acclaimed release of the year. While Decker’s work is above the quality of similar titles, it remains one of the studio’s most underdiscussed films of the post-lockdown era. It’s not a creative failure by any means, but lacks any permanence that would mark it among the director’s other recent success stories. For the next film, perspective would shift to another experimental family story featuring an up and coming director whose previous work became an indie darling. With his next project, he helped to solidify himself as a voice to watch.
Coming Up Next: After Yang (2022)
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