They say that love conquers all and when you really love or feel loved by someone deeply, it can feel as if that statement is absolutely true. Losing a person you love is one of the hardest things we humans endure and getting through that pain isn’t easy. But what if your love for someone was so strong it could provide you with the chance to bring them back?
Don’t Let Go follows a police detective named Jack (David Oyelowo), who patrols the streets of Los Angeles while also helping to look after his niece Ashley (Storm Reid). One night Ashley, along with her father (Brian Tyree Henry) and mother are tragically and mysteriously killed in a triple homicide. As Jack grieves, he receives an astonishing phone call from Ashley’s phone…from Ashley herself. Jack is left to figure out what is going not only with the phone calls, but the truth behind what really happened to his family.
Don’t Let Go is at its core a film about the power of love. The relationship between Jack and Ashley is depicted as strong throughout the film, an unbreakable bond defined by trust between the two and Uncle Jack’s dependability, that made their uncle-niece relationship a little stronger than typical. That the bond would continue across dimensions despite her death in one reality is indicative of the strength of their love for one another. The connection the two had is what powers Ashley to be able to communicate in the past with the only person who would tirelessly search to find the truth of what happened to her and try to save her from her fate. The message is sure to resonate with many who have ever shared a bond with someone that has felt strong enough to the point where you thought the two of you would find each other through whatever obstacle stood in your way.
Don’t Let Go takes the detective drama/thriller and adds a neat sci-fi twist to it. I was engrossed throughout the film and found myself invested in the outcome, a sign that director Jacob Aaron Estes did his job in making an entertaining, competent film. The murder mystery at the center of the plot is well covered and contains enough twists and red herrings to keep audiences thrown off right up until just before the reveal of what’s really going on. The time transcendence plot line is also capably handled by Estes with the Butterfly Effect from Jack’s actions in attempting to save Ashley through his communications with her making logical sense and communicated effectively onscreen. David Oyelowo and Storm Reid also turn in very good performances with impeccable chemistry, easily handling the heavy lifting asked of them as the emotional core of the film. Despite all of the good aspects contained within the film, I left Don’t Let Go feeling as if it was a little less than the sum of its parts. The film’s overarching theme of love transcending the limits of time and space has been seen before and executed to a much better degree. Visually, the film is pretty paint-by-numbers and doesn’t stand out and while Don’t Let Go is entertaining and worthy of a watch, it doesn’t really stick with you after viewing.
Image: OTL Releasing
