Vertigo Releasing presents Sew Torn on UK and Ireland digital platforms from March 31, 2025.
Synopsis
Barbara Duggen (Eve Connolly) is struggling to keep her fabric shop alive. After a botched sewing appointment sets her on a quest to replace her client’s lost button, she unexpectedly stumbles upon a drug deal gone bad. Faced with two downed motorcyclists, guns, and a briefcase – Barbara is completely torn. Does she: commit the perfect crime, call the police or drive away, and face the deadly confrontations that result from each of these choices.
Review
Good crime thrillers are hard to come by nowadays. Sure, there are plenty out there, but finding ones that are engaging whilst bring something new to the table can be a rarity. However, in recent years, there have been a few examples, such as last year’s Strange Darling and 2022’s The Outfit, that have come along and injected new life into the genre in their own unique ways. Now, having seen it, I confidently say that Freddy Macdonald’s directorial debut Sew Torn is another worthy addition to that list.
This film boldly attempts to mix sewing with a Coen brothers-style story about a drug deal gone horribly wrong and someone stumbling across the aftermath. If that sounds like an odd combination that’s because it is and on paper, it sounds like something that shouldn’t work but thankfully MacDonald goes well out of his way to make sure it does.
The theme of sewing and threads are present both in the form of the main character, Barbara and also in the way the film itself chooses to present its story. The narrative is told through the perspective of three separate outcomes that Barbara can choose from after coming across the aforementioned altercation. From this, the film uses the three paths of committing the perfect crime, calling the police or driving away to weave its intricate yet thoroughly entertaining “what if” scenarios.
Each mini-story has its own set of problems for Barbara to overcome and creates new reasons to build tension that feels fresh for that specific path, never letting the film feel repetitive at any point. This also allows MacDonald to come into his own with both his writing and direction as each scenario requires Barbara to come up with increasingly more elaborate solutions to resolve them, all of which are done through the power of needles, threads and makeshift Rube Goldberg-style contraptions that don’t always go according to plan. This element alone instantly makes Barbara a forward-thinking character to root for whilst also displaying how capable she is in these intense situations.
On top of all this, the film also boasts some strong performances that help elevate the material and bring this rather outlandish concept to life. Eve Connolly is brilliant as Barbara, bringing a lot of ingenuity to the character but also emotional vulnerability when needed. One of the standouts, though, is John Lynch as the man with the gun who is tracking down Barbara in each story. He adds the right amount of menace to his character without overdoing it at any point and really makes the most of the more dialogue driven suspense that is found during the final story in the film.
Sew Torn is a great example of creative filmmaking that works within the constraints of a given genre. Taking two completely different things and blending them in such a seamless manner is something to applaud as it feels effortless in its approach and how it goes about upping the stakes with each of the three presented outcomes. Stitched together with confident direction, great performances and a sprinkling of dark humour makes this an endlessly investing watch that is guaranteed to gain a cult following in the future.
Verdict
Freddy Macdonald offers up a darkly playful crime thriller that continuously finds inventive ways to keep its premise and story moving, all of which is powered by a brilliant lead performance from Eve Connolly.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
