In this very silly drama, David Oyelowo plays a cop investigating a horrific crime with the help of a phone call from the past
The immense silliness of this high-concept, time-shift cop thriller about a detective solving a murder case with help from the victim phoning from two weeks before her death makes it virtually impossible to take seriously. Even with an intelligent, credible performance by David Oyelowo, the daftness and utter implausibility of a
smartphone so smart it can make calls to the future is overwhelming.
The opening 15 minutes are entertaining enough: this is the bit before the time-travel tricksiness. Don’t Let Go is set in LA, where detective Jack Radcliff (Oyelowo), a good cop and solid dependable guy, keeps an eye on his teenage niece Ashley (beautifully played by Storm Reid) whose dad is struggling with addiction. One day, Jack gets a panicky call from Ashley, and, rushing over to her house, walks into a crime scene in which everyone is dead. Days later, paralysed by grief, he gets a call from Ashley. She sounds cheery and very much undead.