For years a Stephen King-Steven Spielberg collaboration has been promised, but that team-up never materialized (outside the King-penned miniseries ROSE RED, which was initially supposed to be a Spielberg directed feature). Now, in 2023, it seems we may have the next best thing: a short film scripted by King’s son Owen and directed by Spielberg’s daughter Destry Allyn that, furthering the nepotistic bent, is headlined by Sean Penn’s son Hopper.
For those reasons LET ME GO (THE RIGHT WAY) has already become notorious, although it’s also garnered a fair amount of acclaim. It was a popular entry at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival (where upon being questioned about her cinematic influences, Destry Allyn Spielberg cheekily answered, “I have never seen a movie”) and picked up for YouTube distribution by Alter. It also led to Destry Allyn being selected by the producers of the JOHN WICK franchise to helm the upcoming feature FOUR ASSASSINS (AND A FUNERAL). Does LET ME GO (THE RIGHT WAY) live up to all the acclaim? Let’s see.
A disturbed young man named Aiden (Penn) enters the sanctum of Dr. Kemp (Brian d’Arcy James, whose credits include the senior Spielberg’s WEST SIDE STORY), a psychiatrist who claims that “weird is my specialty.” Through his psychiatric sessions we learn that Aiden is a bank guard who feels “like I’m being toyed with” by some outside agency, depicted via quick intercuts showing the reality (or at least Aiden’s interpretation) of what he’s discussing. The label of his favorite record has morphed from “Let Me Go The Right Way” to Let Me Go (The Right Way),” his shirt has changed color, a jar of pickles has decreased in size, Aiden’s workmates have taken to calling him Paul and, most disturbing of all, a woman (Pooya Mohseni) on a bus whispers this in his ear: “Don’t take the pills, they make the world lie.”
I’ll refrain from giving away further plot details. The film’s driving force is its direction, which is mostly impeccable, with a well-edited juxtaposition of close-ups and medium shots set to an appropriately jittery, anxiety-inducing score by Mark Foster, and enhanced by crisp illumination by cinematographer Jeffrey Kim. Furthermore, Hopper Penn is quite strong in the lead role, and well paired with Brian d’Arcy James.
The scripting by Owen King is clever above all else, an attribute best demonstrated by a medical degree referred to in an early scene and brought up again near the end, where a close-up reveals a most unsettling bit of information. Where the script falls apart is in the multi-twist ending; none of those twists are terribly interesting or exciting, something of which Spielberg seems entirely conscious, as she neutralizes the film’s concluding moments by intercutting the end credits. So ultimately LET ME GO (THE RIGHT WAY), despite the best efforts of its second-generation cast and crew, registers as almost good.
Vital Statistics
LET ME GO (THE RIGHT WAY)
Go Be One Motion Pictures/Thruline Entertainment/Alter
Director: Destry Allyn Spielberg
Producers: Oliver Brooks, Josh Kesselman, Owen King, Gilana Lobel, Michael Pitt, Destry Allyn Spielberg
Screenplay: Owen King
Cinematography: Jeffrey Kim
Editing: Tine Lykke Jensen
Cast: Hopper Penn, Brian D’Arcy James, Pooya Mohseni, Robert Aloi, Ronnetta Renay, Gabe Fazio, Jake McCready, Sofia Nistratova