‘RE-CREATION’ (Tribeca 2025) A head spinning deep dive into an unsolved case.

Tribeca 2025 rainbow logoRE-CREATION

re-creation

Co-directors Jim Sheridan and David Merriman give Tribeca 2025 audiences a truly extraordinary viewing experience with RE-CREATION. Based on the failed attempt to convict a self-professed murderer in the Irish courts, Sheridan gathers forensics experts, police interviews, evidence, and a fictional jury to see what might have happened if history had played out differently. A spectacular cast assumes the roles of the barristers, the accused, and the lead witness. Sheridan digs into the questions of the case and the delicate nature of one person’s truth.

In 1996, French filmmaker Sophie Toscan Du Plantier arrived at her holiday home in Toormore, West Cork. A witness described a man in a long, dark coat following Sophie for two days. On the third morning, Sophie was found brutally murdered in the lane outside her home. Irish authorities investigated British journalist Ian Bailey. He never faced trial in Ireland despite being tried and convicted in absentia by the French government. It is considered one of Ireland’s most shocking unsolved crimes, and now I know why.

Re-Creation evidenceThe jury is exceptional as they move through measured recall to furious shouting matches. Their diligence in tracking down evidence and looking at all sides gives me hope that jurors take their duties seriously. Jack Thornton’s editing is a feat. The choice to keep Krieps in the frame for longer than seems normal has a chilling effect. RE-CREATION is akin to live theatre. It is an improvisation session strapped to a ticking time bomb. The audience is the 13th jury member. Sheridan provides newsreel footage, newspaper clippings, video testimony, and audio recordings at the precise times we might feel lost. It is a real-time exploration of possibilities. 

Colm Meaney plays Ian Bailey. He is weary and entirely silent. Meany speaks not a single word, but his presence is vital. Vicky Krieps plays the outlier juror #8. She elicits pure, unfiltered emotions by poking the bear and sewing doubt. Krieps is sometimes intentionally antagonistic to prove a point. This role adds to her long resume of chameleon roles. She is relentlessly compelling.

Re-Creation Colm as BaileyJim Sheridan also plays Juror #1, serving as a guide and sounding board. Sheridan’s attention to detail is award-worthy. Going as far as to take the jury on a tour of the key locations in the investigation. It’s hard to discern where Sheridan lies on the guilty spectrum personally. His extensive knowledge never feels coercive. He and Merriman skillfully make a case for confusion and conflict, mirroring the state of the evidence.

This hybrid fact and fiction roleplay is intoxicating. True crime fans will eat it up. RE-CREATION is a physical manifestation of every podcast, thriller novel, and Dateline episode come to life. People would pay to participate in something this immersive. Gather all your armchair detectives and get ready to hold your breath. RE-CREATION is one of Tribeca 2025’s best films.


Director: Jim Sheridan, David Merriman

Producer: Fabrizio Maltese, Tina O’Reilly

Screenwriter: Jim Sheridan, David Merriman

Cinematographer: Carlo Thiel

Composer: Anna Rice

Editor: Jack Thornton

Executive Producer: Jim Sheridan

Associate Producer: Gráinne Carroll, Mark Ward

Line Producer: Solveig Harper

Production Designer: Christina Schaffer

Costume Design: Magdalena Labuz

Funding Partners: Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland, Film Fund Luxembourg, Eurimages, Latido FIlms and Doha Film Institute

Sound Engineer: Carlo Thoss

Cast: Vickey Krieps, Jim Sheridan, Aidan Gillen, Colm MeaneyRe-Creation
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Review: Vicky Krieps captivates in ‘HOLD ME TIGHT’

HOLD ME TIGHT


Hold Me Tight is the newest film from French actor-director Mathieu Amalric. It centers around the emotional and physical break between a mother, her two children, and her husband. The film is a gripping narrative with your heart in your throat from beginning to end. You are constantly questioning reality. Grief is a monster known only to those who live it. Hold Me Tight journeys through regret with gusto. The editing is an absolute triumph, using fractured storytelling and poetic voiceovers. The dizzying pace is warranted by Amalric’s screenplay structure of time hopping.

The entire cast is breathtaking. Our leading lady, Vicky Krieps, gives a mesmerizing performance as a woman unraveling. Each beat is carefully curated, mired in sadness and pure love. Krieps’ unadulterated vulnerability demands your attention. It is an award-worthy turn. Hold Me Tight is an extraordinary study of grief and moving forward. You cannot walk away from this film unchanged.


Opens September 9 in NY at
Film at Lincoln Center & Angelika Film Center
 
Opens September 16 in LA at Laemmle Royal

 

France | 2021 | 97 min | Color | 1.85:1 | In French and German with English subtitles
 
Directed by Mathieu Amalric. Screenplay by Mathieu Amalric, based on the play by Claudine Galéa, Je reviens de loin. Cinematography by Christophe Beaucarne. Editing by François Gedigier. Production Design by Laurent Baude. Produced by Laetitia Gonzales and Yaël Fogiel with Félix Von Boehm (Les Films du Poisson). A Kino Lorber release.