Director: Polly Steele
Cast: Lucy Boynton, Stanley Weber, Jodhi May, Juliet Stevenson, Karin Bertlin, Eva Magyar
Rating: 15
Running Time: 101 mins
Release Date: 15th September
LET ME GO follows four generations of women from one family as they discover more about each other. The film explores lies, deceit and hidden, shameful family secrets that seriously impact everyone when brought to light.
Helga (Juliet Stevenson) receives a letter from her cousin in Austria about the worsening condition of her elderly mother. Helga’s daughter (Jodhi May) and granddaughter (Lucy Boynton) are shocked to hear of her existence and so begins the unravelling of a family’s secrets.
Let Me Go is all about the challenging relationships between mothers and daughters, with four generations and the complex secrets they keep. Helga’s family learn the horrible truth about her mother and it results in the entire family re-evaluating their lives.
Based on the real-life story of Helga Schnieder, the film delves into some highly emotional issues that date back to the Second World War. Let Me Go has a very dry tone, with none of the characters ever truly overreacting. With such severe family secrets, it would be easy to make characters dramatically react for a bigger emotional punch, but the film holds a stiff upper lip that suits the characters well.
Despite the story revolving around mothers and daughters, Let Me Go features an unnecessary and pointless sub-plot about the granddaughter and her budding relationship with Serges (Stanley Weber), a waiter she meets on her first day in Vienna. It doesn’t lead anywhere, yet it almost takes up half of the film’s time. It’s frustrating because Let Me Go was nearly a film entirely about women in one family, there was simply no need for this plotline. It feels like they thought the film had to have at least one relationship story between a man and a woman. It didn’t fit in well with the story and it doesn’t add anything.
Overall, Let Me Go is a solid film with good performances and a surprising storyline. It isn’t an overly emotional film, which is what you would expect given the issues discussed in it, but it is incredibly interesting.
