never let go movie review

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025

By Aya Black

This is another movie that I definitely wanted to watch when it came out in the theaters last year but I am grateful I got the opportunity more recently to rent it for a really affordable price on Amazon Prime to help pass time after not being able to fall asleep. Halle Berry, the main character, lives in the woods with her two sons after a major apocalyptic event has turned most of society into homicidal monsters. Not too far of a stretch from our current state of affairs as a society right now but I digress. 

In attempt not to fall ill to the evils, every time Halle and the boys leave their home they have ropes that tethered themselves to house, the number #1 rule is to never let go. Letting go, according to Halle, is the difference between life & death. The trio only leave their home to find food. 

As time goes on, the food sources dwindle which causes a whole host of issues. Starvation causes things to take a turn for the worst. Trying to sleep is getting more difficult, falling sick is becoming more common and the family has to make difficult decisions. These decisions causes Halle's youngest child to doubt his mother and start to act out. 

First, he wants to untether the ropes when leaving the house. Second, he believes the world is back to normal. Third, he rebels against his mother when she makes the executive decision that they must kill & eat their dog in order to survive. 

This rebellion causes him to chase after his mother into the greenhouse that is adjacent to the main house &  where she decides that is where she is going to kill the dog (with a lot of tears and doubt in her heart btw). The youngest child chases after his mother and in a fit of rage untethers her from the main house, after being untethered she succumbs to the evil energy and kills herself in order not to turn & kill her children. 

I am going to stop the spoilers here and encourage you to watch the rest the movie unfold for yourself. However, the core theme is what I want to discuss. When I thought about the family starving it made me think of the most recent SNAP benefit cuts. When you are not able to have nutritious meals, it impacts the way you are able to show up in the world mentally, physically and emotionally. 

The family was suffering from psychological warfare. A lot of issues we are currently facing in society. I do not have all of answers to society's problems but I do appreciate media that directly or indirectly, addresses the issues that we are collectively facing in the world.

Tupac was definitely ahead of his time when he said "They got money for war but can't feed the poor." How as a society, do we turn away from killing each other en masse (wars, gun violence, etc.) and address some of our more pressing issues more head on such as food access, affordable housing, and mental health support for example? 

Those are the questions coming up for me after watching Never Let Go. If you watched the movie please reach out so we can discuss further. Let's get free together.