The narrative action of Mathieu Amalric’s latest directorial feature, Hold Me Tight, adapted from a play which was never staged, takes place in a kind of suspended timeline. One day Clarisse (Vicky Krieps) wakes up, gets dressed, and goes for a drive. In voiceover we hear that she has left her two children and husband and bears, it seems, no intention of returning. We see the family that has been left behind as they adjust to her sudden departure: the kids act out, the husband hides his panic, and they eventually begin settling into their new life.
But it dawns on us early (perhaps too early) that we aren’t getting the full story. Through Amalric’s unconventional structure that leaps through a fuzzy timeline and from fantasy to reality—and through a growing disconnect between what our narrator tells us and what we see—it becomes apparent that something darker,...
But it dawns on us early (perhaps too early) that we aren’t getting the full story. Through Amalric’s unconventional structure that leaps through a fuzzy timeline and from fantasy to reality—and through a growing disconnect between what our narrator tells us and what we see—it becomes apparent that something darker,...
- 9/9/2022
- by Gabrielle Marceau
- The Film Stage
The woman offscreen at the start of Mathieu Amalric’s “Hold Me Tight” is examining a matrix of face-down Polaroids, turning them over and getting frustrated at what she’s not finding. Or perhaps not remembering?
Her name is Clarisse (Vicky Krieps), and she’s next shown quietly gathering some things in the pinched light of a bluish-orange dawn and slipping out of a house that still holds a sleeping husband, son and daughter. Her actions feel purposeful, but also anguished, maybe even desperate.
The act of leaving — and the prospect of leaving behind — is at the heart of Amalric’s emotional mystery which, as its fragments and enigmas unfold, isn’t necessarily a journey for viewers to solve but rather a state of mind to experience and understand: the bewitchingly poignant story of a woman’s fertile, possibly perilous, coping mechanism.
Also Read:
‘The Worst Ones,’ Vicky Krieps Win...
Her name is Clarisse (Vicky Krieps), and she’s next shown quietly gathering some things in the pinched light of a bluish-orange dawn and slipping out of a house that still holds a sleeping husband, son and daughter. Her actions feel purposeful, but also anguished, maybe even desperate.
The act of leaving — and the prospect of leaving behind — is at the heart of Amalric’s emotional mystery which, as its fragments and enigmas unfold, isn’t necessarily a journey for viewers to solve but rather a state of mind to experience and understand: the bewitchingly poignant story of a woman’s fertile, possibly perilous, coping mechanism.
Also Read:
‘The Worst Ones,’ Vicky Krieps Win...
- 9/8/2022
- by Robert Abele
- The Wrap
The gauzy blues and burnt oranges that make up the complementary color palette of Mathieu Amalric’s “Hold Me Tight” stand in stark contrast to one another, highlighting their differences while contributing to a sense of visual harmony. Orange safety vests pop against a bright blue sky, cobalt ink is written into a tangerine notebook, and a rust-colored 1978 AMC Pacer streaks through the blue-gray light of dawn. By definition, complementary colors are directly opposite one another on the color wheel, and when combined, cancel each other out to make white or black. In Amalric’s carefully constructed vision of a mother’s complicated separation from her family, two complementary and opposing versions of reality coexist alongside one another like puzzle pieces, working together to tell a single story.
The narrative threads seem connected at first, but as the film plays out they slowly begin to unravel. Clarisse (Vicky Krieps) is married with two children,...
The narrative threads seem connected at first, but as the film plays out they slowly begin to unravel. Clarisse (Vicky Krieps) is married with two children,...
- 9/8/2022
- by Susannah Gruder
- Indiewire
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