Don’t Make Me Go – Cinema Journal

Don’t make me go by Hannah Marks is a humble and likable film, starring John Cho and newbie Mia Isaac as a father and daughter who go on a journey when he turns out to be terminally ill.

Unlike a dime to the dozen tearful leave Don’t let me go no doubt about the result. Her daughter Wally (Mia Asaac), who acts as the narrator, warns viewers in advance of the disappointment at the end. But she also promises that the journey – and the story at the heart of it – will be worth it. And the movie delivers almost exactly what it advertises.

How viewers feel as the credits roll depends on how much they trust director Hannah Marks’ cuddly yet daring style. She also did this coloring just a bit out of line in previous films such as After all (2018) and the polyrelational comedy-drama Mark, Mary and a few other people (2021).

Max (John Cho) is a single father who does everything possible for his teenage daughter Wally. They have a good bond, although recently it was tested by Wally’s teenage blues. When Max falls ill and learns he only has one year left to live, he is determined to make the most of the time he has left. He wants to build a deeper bond with Wally and make sure she’s strong enough to get through life even when he’s gone.

Under the guise of going to a college reunion, Max takes his daughter on a long road trip. Her ulterior motive is to reunite her with her biological mother, who has been absent from Wally’s entire life.

This all sounds rather depressing, but Don’t make me go capture it in a vivid story, for which the screenwriter skillfully balances the tightrope between comedy and tragedy. Marks chooses a lighthearted and empathetic approach and knows how to encourage actors to engage in captivating acting. Cho, that in look for (Aneesh Chaganty, 2018) once playing a father under pressure, Max plays with a familiar gravity. Isaac takes on a less complex persona in her first feature role, but her charm proves effective and she gives Cho capable counterplay. Their empathetic dynamism is the engine of the film and keeps it going.

It makes sense that Wally would be less defined as a character. Although the film is faked as a story about the anxieties of parenthood and the bond between fathers and daughters, in fact it is Don’t make me go especially a film about a man who finds himself and faces his mortality.

Don’t make me go to see on Prime Video (VoD).