Hold Me Close (2024) Movie Review & Ending Explained: Do Woody and Lynlyn end up together?

Jason Paul Laxamana’s Hold Me Close (2024) is a strange, baffling film. It’s as uncommitted as dull, trying to be unpredictable while landing flat. There’s no energy or rhythm, just a bland reiteration of some hokey intuition twisted into a comment on fate and tragedy. Even as the actors insert conviction, the script hopscotches from one contrived intimacy to another family trauma in the most unconvincing manner. There’s no reason for anyone to give this a shot. It’s the lamest romantic tragedy that is conceivable, relying on twists that make no sense or have any plausible build-up.

Hold Me Close (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:

Originally Filipino, Woody (Carlo Aquino) is always on the move, never quite settling anywhere for too long. He avoids and skirts pain, fleeing for newer shores where he thinks he might not have to deal with his demons. He has travelled the world, hoping for an anchor, an escape. But it remains steadily elusive. He doesn’t want to look inwards, tackle his scars, quickly veering to outer projections of brief happiness. With that intention of finding safer shores for his well-being, he arrives in the Japanese town of Karatsu.

At the local market, he develops an instant attraction towards Lynlyn (Julia Barretto), who sells squids with her brothers, Botbot (Migo Valid) and Tantan (Jairus Aquino). From the start, he imposes his company even when she is strictly uninterested. She maintains distance, he acts all too friendly and keeps returning to buy excessive squid every day. His tactic is clear. By thrusting himself before her constantly, he believes he can earn her attention, her absolute, unwavering interest. Of course, it works. The man exerts, the woman succumbs. Coercion of charm, especially male, is such a toxic trope and films really need to abstain, cut down on it. The relationship develops with swift force. Lynlyn reveals the real reason for her baulking. She has this special power where, by touch alone, she can gauge whether a person will have positive or negative impact on her life. Accordingly, she makes her decisions. She has tough luck getting into relationships. But with Woody, she senses a positive energy. She decides to give it a shot, show him around, taking up his long-persistent request.

What unravels is an ordinary rite of mutual acquaintance between the two, gushing towards intimacy and love. She shares how she was accosted by Japanese spirits at a forest who have hurled the ability at her. Is a gift or a curse? They hang out, try to get to know each other. It’s all promising until at a lunch, there’s a sudden interruption. She gets a jolt of negative energy. Startled, she withdraws. She draws up her guard. Lines of division are re-established between the two. Nevertheless she gives him three chances. If they work, she will reassert intimacy. But would it even pan out? Chances seem frightfully low but Woody is tenacious. He won’t cede hope so easily.

The film also reveals it was Lynlyn’s helpfulness that landed her in trouble and got her the special ability. Generosity led her to tricky, tough situations. Yes, now she can evade danger but she’s only limiting herself to genuine, human interactions. He opens up on issues of trauma, how he accidentally shot his father leading to the latter’s panic attack. Yet he passed on most of his property to Woody. His mother grudged this, why she was left out of the major inheritance. Since then, he has pulled himself away. Lynlyn insists that he reconnects with his mother. It turns out, helping him allows her to reduce her special ability. It seems to fade away.

Hold Me Close (2024) Movie Ending Explained:

Do Woody and Lynlyn end up together?

Intimacy between the two strengthens. The curse seems to have lifted. Things seem headed for the better, a shine comes to the relationship. Maybe it can work out, not like her worst fears. She urges him to go home when his mother informs him of her illness. Would he really like to live in guilt over not getting to meet his mother if anything bad were to happen? So he abides by her plea. He agrees and goes to meet his mother, whose forgiveness he already sought over a phone call. It’s all great between him and her, the siblings.

Lynlyn is happy and relaxed, until a sudden call interrupts and destroys everything. It’s Woody’s family lawyer, informing he has died in a car accident. He wanted to let her know he loves her. The film ties up, underlining this is why she used to get occasional negative signals from him.

Hold Me Close (2024) Movie Review:

How do you review a film where the barest conviction itself is absent? Laxamana’s screenplay makes no sense almost stubbornly. You wonder if the lack of common sense is purposeful, deflating any sincerity on display. Both Carlo Aquino and Julia Barretto immerse themselves, at least as much as possible in this haywire script. They try to salvage but this is a sinking ship. Her Lynlyn’s weird abilities are as straining on credulity as the quickness with which his character’s traumas get resolved. It’s bizarre and you are left increasingly exasperated as the film builds on a pack of silly conceits, neither remotely believable.

Even the siblings are a passing afterthought, pushed forth as the sister’s over-enthusiastic protector. She insists she can take care of herself but they assert. They are typical men who know best for women in their lives, hijacking decisions and conceding no space whatsoever. The problem with Hold Me Close is its randomness, a disjointedness hammers scenes where there could have been a sliver of promise, a chance of charm and awkwardness and genuine pathos. The screenplay isn’t cohesive, rather a jumble of scenes lacking emotional weight, due consequence, an air of believability. In the guise of people not being able to make up their minds, special powers are vaunted. When you design these things, at least ground it in a strong emotional core. Before relationships can move through churn, the film air-drops trauma discussions, wrapping it light and handing out cursorily.