Bad connection

A moment tying the intriguing first half of ‘Don’t Let Go’ to the second proves to be a breaking point for time-loop thriller

For a while, “Don’t Let Go” does keep a bit of a grip on you. ¶ The latest effort from writer-director Jacob Aaron Estes blends a traditional psychological thriller with a supernatural time-loop element that helps the film stand out from the pack and keep you invested in its central mystery. ¶ However, there is a point somewhere around the middle of the film where it all falls apart, “Don’t Let Go” devolving into a confusing mess that, as it happens, becomes tough to hold.

From this point, the story is hard to follow, especially because “Don’t Let Go” seems to be constantly making up the rules for how its all-important time loop works. (Perhaps the rules are consistent throughout the movie but are simply poorly explained? Either way, it’s a problem.)

It’s too bad, because “Don’t Let Go” has some strengths, from the decent premise to the performance of star David Oyelowo to the appropriate feeling of unease that Estes instills in the affair.

By the time we get through its poorly conceived ending, however, those things matter little.

In the promising beginning of “Don’t Let Go,” we meet Oyelowo’s Jack Radcliff, a police detective who enjoys hanging out with his beloved niece, Ashley (Storm Reid). At a diner, the pair pass a placemat back and forth so each can add a bit to a crude drawing Ashley has started on it.

They’re spending time together at this moment because Ashley’s sometimes-flaky father — Jack’s brother, Garret (Brian Tyree Henry of “If Beale Street Could Talk” and FX’s brilliant “Atlanta”) — forgot to pick her up, which enrages Jack. “He’s such an (expletive),” Ashley allows. Soon after, Jack takes a call from Ashley, but he’s busy with work and more or less blows her off. He pays more attention to a subsequent call that suggests she’s in danger.

LACEY TERRELL — UNIVERSAL PICTURES David Oyelowo stars as Jack Radcliff in “Don’t Let Go.”