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Sew Torn
Freddy Macdonald (director)
(studio)
15 (certificate)
100 (length)
31 March 2025 (released)
3 d
Barabra (Eve Connolly) is trying to keep her and her late mother’s Switzerland based seamstress business going. As such Barbara is a ‘travelling seamstress’ going out to clients providing a more personal service as her shop is closing down.
A wedding dress client Grace (Caroline Goodall) is particularly difficult bullying with personal insults. In her frustration Barbara loses a button which ends up on a grate. A pause, and she flicks it down the grate, losing it forever.
Forced to return to the store she comes across a very messy situation on the way two motorcyclists are down. There are guns on the road, bags of white powder and a briefcase. It doesn’t take much deduction to work out what it’s all about. In her mind Barbara is thinking Perfect Crime, Call Police or Drive Away. The chapters neatly embroidered on screen.
Each decision results in a different scenario that features the aforementioned plus Calum Worthy, John Lynch, K. Callan, Ron Cook and Thomas Douglas. Each scenario providing them with varying lengths of screen time and character development and insight. All that plus Barbara’s skill as a seamstress and her Heath Robinson like solutions to various situations using threads.
Director Freddy Macdonald’s (co-writer Fred Macdonald) feature debut is adapted from his short film of the same name. The feature is highly stylised yet there is a clear vein of human issues: parental expectations, loyalty, and grief. The latter Barbara is still feeling with her having recorded messages from her mother triggered by pulls on the threads, for almost every situation.
There are clues regarding the scenarios and how they interact scattered all over the film and with the best will in the world the concept is not original. That’s not important as it’s very good and goes deeper into character that might at first appear.
Connolly is excellent as a daughter forced to work and contend with some horrible situations and people. Having the lion’s share of the screen time the rest of the cast are supporting. They however have their time and use it well. It's not fair to choose a best but a favourite sequence features Connolly, Worthy and Lynch, having lunch.
Sew Torn will be on UK and Irish digital platforms on 31 March from Vertigo Releasing.
A wedding dress client Grace (Caroline Goodall) is particularly difficult bullying with personal insults. In her frustration Barbara loses a button which ends up on a grate. A pause, and she flicks it down the grate, losing it forever.
Forced to return to the store she comes across a very messy situation on the way two motorcyclists are down. There are guns on the road, bags of white powder and a briefcase. It doesn’t take much deduction to work out what it’s all about. In her mind Barbara is thinking Perfect Crime, Call Police or Drive Away. The chapters neatly embroidered on screen.
Each decision results in a different scenario that features the aforementioned plus Calum Worthy, John Lynch, K. Callan, Ron Cook and Thomas Douglas. Each scenario providing them with varying lengths of screen time and character development and insight. All that plus Barbara’s skill as a seamstress and her Heath Robinson like solutions to various situations using threads.
Director Freddy Macdonald’s (co-writer Fred Macdonald) feature debut is adapted from his short film of the same name. The feature is highly stylised yet there is a clear vein of human issues: parental expectations, loyalty, and grief. The latter Barbara is still feeling with her having recorded messages from her mother triggered by pulls on the threads, for almost every situation.
There are clues regarding the scenarios and how they interact scattered all over the film and with the best will in the world the concept is not original. That’s not important as it’s very good and goes deeper into character that might at first appear.
Connolly is excellent as a daughter forced to work and contend with some horrible situations and people. Having the lion’s share of the screen time the rest of the cast are supporting. They however have their time and use it well. It's not fair to choose a best but a favourite sequence features Connolly, Worthy and Lynch, having lunch.
Sew Torn will be on UK and Irish digital platforms on 31 March from Vertigo Releasing.
