It’s rare when we get to see a person of color headline a mystery sci-fi thriller, but that is precisely what we get with “No Running,” a film from Delmar Washington in his feature directorial debut. The film follows a young Black man named Jaylen (Skylan Brooks), whose girlfriend vanishes in a storm. Jaylen then goes on the run, investigating the matter to discover what happened on the night that she disappeared. At the same time, the police suspect him as the cause of her mysterious vanish. As Jaylen looks into what happened, he begins to uncover otherworldly forces at play.
This film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, and at a tight 85-minute runtime, it makes the most out of it. There are glimmers of potential for what this film could have been. But the movie lacks writing good enough to support its individual ideas. We’ve all seen movies about a missing relative and a hero’s journey to get them back. However, this movie throws a supernatural element into it, making the disappearance more inconceivable. This gives the story a more unpredictable layer.
The first act can feel like it’s taking a while to get going as it sets up its protagonist. We learn about Jaylen’s backstory, and then once our inciting incident happens, the film goes to some interesting and not-so-interesting places.
What makes “No Running” intriguing is like many great genre films, it takes fantastical ideas and grounds them in social commentary and mature themes. Ideas that people can connect with. It’s a film that deals with racism, and how victimized Jaylen feels as a Black man in a system where the odds are stacked against him. Ideas like this are shown in more subtle ways, such as the film’s lack of supporting characters. Many films like this have a protagonist figuring out the mystery with some friends. However, Jaylen is alone throughout the movie, showing his isolation uniquely.
Racism is a significant theme of the movie, but the execution of the theme is flawed. At times, the dialogue can be a bit on-the-nose. A scene where Jaylen watches a racist history video that has everyone in his classroom turning towards him lacks subtlety. As for the story, “No Running” unfortunately falls upon many of the genre tropes. Jaylen looks for answers in the library and finds connections to the past. He also seeks answers from an older man who has a deep understanding of the strange events.
The final act of the film also feels a bit weak. Its explanation for the disappearance feels underwhelming and vague. While its final moments have some good ideas, it doesn’t feel like a culmination of the story leading up to it. Instead, it feels like an inevitable result that would have played out regardless of the protagonist’s actions. Its emotional beats don’t pay off the way they should, as Jaylen’s baggage is mainly there to set up his character, but generally has no bearing on the story or the choices he makes throughout the film that defines his character. Although Brooks gives an excellent performance, some of the other performances can feel a bit weak in comparison.
There was potential for a compelling story that effectively combines a sci-fi movie with social commentary. Ultimately, the result falls short of its premise. Once the credits roll, you will have watched a subpar thriller. It may have you scratching your head about the point of it all.
*You can read a capsule review/alternate take of “No Running” on The Movie Buff by clicking the following link.
