Hannah Marks has made a name for herself as an actress, writer, and director in the indie world. I am a huge fan of hers on both fronts. If you haven’t seen Banana Split or Mark, Mary & Some Other People do yourself a favor and dive in. Now with Don’t Make Me Go Hannah has directed an Indi feature with so much heart and a polarizing ending.

Don’t Make Me Go stars John Cho (Cowboy BeeBop) and Mia Isaac as Max and Wally Park, a single father and daughter duo. I am a daddy’s girl. So I am a sucker for a father/daughter story and this is no exception. Max learns he has a fatal brain tumor, and instead of telling his daughter right away he takes her on a family road trip in order to find her mother that abandoned them years before. On their way, Max tries to teach Wally everything she might need to know for the rest of her life.

WHERE DON’T MAKE ME GO SHINES

Vera Herbert’s (This Is Us) script builds fantastic relationships and heartfelt moments. John Cho is one of my all-time favorite actors and I love seeing him take on more serious roles. I mean, did you see Searching?! While Max isn’t the perfect father, Cho makes you root for him the whole way through. 

Newcomer Mia Isaac is incredibly charming, even when she’s being a frustrating teenager. She performs alongside Cho like she’s been acting forever and their chemistry together is fantastic.

WHERE DON’T MAKE ME GO DIMS

The pacing of Don’t Make Me Go is slightly off making everything drag somewhere in the middle. So, when things do pick up they get ruined.

Let’s talk about that polarizing ending – SPOILER FREE

The film opens with a warning. “You’re not gonna like the way this story ends, but I think you’re going to like the story”. This statement is the truth. Now, I’m not one who needs a happy ending or even everything tied up in a little bow, but I do need it to make sense.

The wild choice made toward the end of the movie ruins any momentum, powerful moments, and choices the film had made. I don’t feel it’s as poignant of a moment as they had hoped it to be. Instead, it’s just gonna piss off the audience for really no reason. 

Don’t Make Me Go begins streaming on Prime Vidoe on July 15th, 2022!

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