While Don’t Let Go does not have a wholly original concept, writer/director Jacob Estes does put a new coat of paint on the time-travel genre. There are also some good performances, particularly from Mykelti Williamson as Bobby, and of course Brian Tyree Henry, who’s in the film for such a short amount of time his character doesn’t even get a first name, but still steals every scene he’s on-screen. David Oyelowo and Storm Reid are certainly a good team as the main protagonists.
“…Estes does put a new coat of paint on the time-travel genre.”
However, I’m not going to pretend as though this is the best film I’ve seen this year. It’s definitely a well-crafted genre offering. The writing could be better, with more of an emphasis on the relationships than on the plot mechanisms, but the ending is cool. The cast is also very good, but again, if the script were just a tad bit better, the film would get a better rating from me. Just saying that it’s not the worst, but it’s also certainly not the best film that Blumhouse has released this year. Which means I think you should definitely watch it if you are into more plot-driven storylines that don’t necessarily explain why or how the weird things are happening. If you have a large suspension of disbelief and don’t care too much about character development, you’ll love this movie. I only just liked it, but it’s up to you to see for yourselves if I’m wrong or right about that in your estimation, and I challenge you to do so. Films with black actors in the leading roles definitely should be seen, especially in the theater, and I don’t want to be the person to stop you from seeing it for that reason. Give it a spin, but just be warned, it’s more of a Saturn than a Lamborghini.
Don’t Let Go screened at the 2019 New York Film Festival.
"…films with black actors in the leading roles definitely should be seen"
