On Friday, September 20, 2024, the highly anticipated thriller Never Let Go, featuring the talented Halle Berry, premiered in theaters across the United States. The cast also includes Percy Daggs IV and Anthony B. Jenkins.
This gripping film was brought to life by producers Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, Alexandre Aja, and Dan Levine, and is distributed by Lionsgate.
The pivotal characters played by Halle Berry (Momma), Percy Daggs IV (Nolan), and Anthony B. Jenkins (Samuel) are at the core of the storyline in Never Let Go. However, only two of these characters make it through the film. In a powerful act of self-sacrifice, Berry’s character, Momma, ultimately destroys herself to safeguard her children, marking a heartbreaking conclusion to her journey.
Halle Berry’s Momma makes the ultimate sacrifice in Never Let Go
Directed by Alexandre Aja, the 2024 film Never Let Go revolves around the theme of “never let go,”which symbolizes the physical rope binding Momma, Samuel, and Nolan to their secluded woodland home, as well as the deeper emotional connections that bind them as a family.
However, Aja crafts a narrative that transcends a simple tale of a family haunted by evil. From the start, Berry’s character emerges as a fiercely devoted mother, prioritizing her children’s safety above all. Her drive to remain by their side, even in the face of mortal danger, springs from an instinctual need to protect them more efficiently by being present.
Yet, as malevolent spirits begin to infiltrate her mind and body, Berry’s character struggles to maintain that protective instinct. In a particularly harrowing moment, the antagonists threaten Halle Berry’s Momma with a gruesome fate, proclaiming they will force her to harm her children. In a desperate bid to escape their clutches, she tragically takes her own life with a shard of glass.
Are the malevolent spirits in Never Let Go real or a manifestation of Momma’s psyche?
Throughout the film, viewers are led to believe that the evil spirits are indeed real. They take on various forms—sometimes resembling a grotesque, multilegged creature, and at other times appearing as a twisted version of a deceased relative. However, the reality of their existence remains ambiguous.
Nolan’s character introduces a compelling counter-narrative, as he seeks to break away from the unyielding “never let go”pact. He suggests that the evil might not be as authentic as their mother believes, posing the idea that it could merely represent her imagination fueled by profound fear.
The film touches briefly on this psychological dimension of fear and evil, yet does not explore it thoroughly enough to be considered a primary theme. Consequently, by the film’s conclusion, audiences are left with a visceral image of a bloodied Halle Berry after her self-sacrificial act, creating uncertainty about the true nature of the evil she faced. Was she genuinely overwhelmed by malevolence, or were her perceptions distorted by her mind? This question lingers, leaving viewers without a definitive answer.
Never Let Go is currently showing in theaters across the US.
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