Sew Torn

While driving home to retrieve a replacement button for an unruly client, seamstress Barbara (Eve Connolly) stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong. She finds herself with three options: take the case of money for herself, call the police or drive away. Director Freddy Macdonald pulls at each of these threads during his feature debut Sew Torn, each of which leads to a creatively offbeat scenario in this curiously strange romp.

Set within a quirky Alpine town where everyone speaks English and oompah music can always be heard playing in the background, Sew Torn takes place within a world of its own, and what a fascinating place it is to be. Barbara drives an old car with an oversized spool of thread stuck to the back, her sewing box plays a catchy recording every time it’s opened, and there’s an elderly sheriff who also serves as the town’s pastor (K Callan). Macdonald fills his film with imagination, creating something that’s uniquely his own. This creativity also extends to the surprising ways that Barbara uses her sewing skills to jury-rig Home Alone-style traps and contraptions. Although she repeats the same trick more than once, watching their elaborate designs unfold is wholly satisfying every time.

Connolly gives a solid performance in the central role as her character is thrust into three very different circumstances. John Lynch, who plays ruthless mobster Hudson, is another notable standout. After making a brief but strong first impression in the first scenario, the actor is given plenty of opportunities to lean into the role in later scenes to show viewers why he’s to be feared.

Each of the branching pathways Barbara takes is as entertaining as the last. Each is embroidered with a generous helping of dark humour and goes in an unexpected direction. Less successful, though, are the overarching plots about what transpired during the pivotal deal alongside Barbara still reeling from her mother’s death. Compared to everything else this movie has to offer, these aspects are surface-level additions, which Macdonald is unable to stitch into the rest of his debut.

Although it has the occasional misstep along the way, Sew Torn is a remarkable feature debut that’s as imaginative as it is weird. It also marks the start of what could be a promising career for a filmmaker with a distinctive voice.

Andrew Murray

Sew Torn does not have a release date yet.

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