Don’t Go is a 2018 thriller about a father devastated by his daughter’s death who becomes convinced that he can bring her back through a recurring dream.
There’s a very thin line tread upon in David Gleeson‘s latest little mystery, one that I suspect will cleanly divide its audience, and I can’t help but find myself to one side, even as I was taken by some good work from the cast. It’s a curious effort, working to keeping viewers guessing, but not all of it is well realized, despite some grand potential for truly inspirational mind bending.
Young couple Ben Slater (Stephen Dorff) and Hazel (Melissa George) have suffered the worst that parents can endure, the loss by accident of their little girl Molly (Grace Farrell). Naturally, it’s ruined them, yet they try and make a fresh start, traveling to Ireland in hopes of beginning anew. They take ownership of Hazel’s family beachside hotel fixer-upper, with Ben further taking a job as a local school teacher, but it’s not long after when he finds solace in the bottle and suffers bizarre dreams of Molly. More disturbing are the subtle changes when he awakens, eventually believing that he can pull his daughter from these dreams back into reality. But is it true or is Ben slowly slipping away?
Not skimping on its dark tone, the film begins in tragedy and carries Ben into a strange nightmare that grows ever off kilter the more it moves forward. Gleeson, who co-wrote the screenplay, is toying with our expectations, and some of it works just right. The premise itself is ripe with possibilities, and Dorff is effortlessly convincing as a broken father in a desperate spiral. The first act feels genuine, creating a significant emotional bond around the young couple’s loss, giving the first half some well-earned weight. However, things take a mysterious turn beyond that, with secret codes and ambiguous twists that redirect the film’s energy.
Adopting a few tried and true storytelling devices, Don’t Go eventually becomes a game of mental jump rope as Ben replays this single moment again and again, though there’s more to him than what’s first apparent. In the mix comes Hazel’s old friend Serena (Aoibhinn McGinnity), and a disquieting past emerges, ever unscrewing whatever holds Ben together. That said, McGinnity is well cast and intriguingly compelling as a girl seeped in sensuality and wonder.
The film works best in its earlier moments, with Dorff and George deeply affecting as a pair of tortured parents, burdened by questions of “What if?” It’s not a new angle but it’s also hard not to be moved, the whole thing playing on our baser impulses as protectors. Unfortunately, the film travels a different path as shortcuts seem to undercut what was so well established in its start. Themes of sorrow and guilt feel natural, though there’s a lot more circling Ben’s drain, and packed with such, it feels like it loses its grip as its ending doesn’t sit quite right. Yes, certainly, some will take to the tight turns Gleeson steers for, but I was strangely letdown even as I offer a tentative recommendation.