Don’t Make Me Go – Filmkrant

Don’t make me go by Hannah Marks is a modest and likeable film, with John Cho and newbie Mia Isaac as 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 trip there – and the story at the heart of it – is worth it. And the movie delivers pretty much exactly what it advertises.

How the viewer feels as the end credits roll depends on how confident they are in director Hannah Marks’ cuddly yet daring style. She has also colored just outside the lines 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 hard-working single father for his teenage daughter Wally. They have a good bond, although it was recently 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 her entire life.

It all sounds pretty depressing, but Don’t make me go summarizes it in a catchy story, for which the scriptwriter skilfully balances the tightrope between comedy and tragedy. Marks chooses a lighthearted and empathetic approach and knows how to encourage actors to engage in engaging acting. Cho, that of Research (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 dynamic is the motor of the film and maintains the dynamic.

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

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