‘Hold Me Tight’ at the Riviera

New life motto: devour everything Vicky Krieps is in. You only need to see Mathieu Amalric’s most recent movie, Hold Me Tight, to adopt this new rule for yourself. And if Amalric’s name doesn’t ring a bell, his face will surely make you go “Oh yeah! That guy!” He was a Bond villain, after all. Though not as well-known as a director here in the U.S., Hold Me Tight proves he really should be. But heck, better late than never, right?

I had recently been on a mini French film kick (one of which was Olivier Assayas’ film Late August, Early September starring Amalric) so I was perfectly ready to give myself over to this. And really, it didn’t take much.

Hold Me Tight is a beautiful movie about memory, loss, and finding ways to cope. It opens on a woman leaving her two young children and her husband as they sleep. But as the movie breathes, we soon begin to question the reality of what we’re watching. We enter into a world of fragmented memory, time, and space where Amalric refuses to hold our hands, leaving us to put this emotional puzzle together on our own. But it doesn’t feel forced, nor is it overly confusing. We begin to wonder at what lengths would we go to cope with loss. What are we really witnessing? Are these memories? Is this another reality? And what really has been lost? 

But to say too much will ruin the experience. You’ll simply need to see the movie to figure that out. 

So, for the love of Vicky Krieps, go to the Riviera and see this movie! A free-flowing piece, where nearly every frame is filled with emotion. It has turned out to be one of my favorites of the year. 

Hold Me Tight will be playing at The Riviera from September 30 – October 6.

Christopher Matteo Connor is a writer and filmmaker. When he isn’t writing, watching movies, and working on projects, you can be sure he’s somewhere enjoying a big slice of vegan pizza.