Freddy Macdonald’s Sew Torn is a high-stakes crime thriller for everyone that grew up obsessed with choose-your-own-adventure novels. Working through three wildly different timelines, the story follows a mobile seamstress presented with a (truly) life-changing opportunity. After stumbling across a drug deal gone wrong, Barbara (Eve Connolly) is faced with a choice: commit the perfect crime, call the police, or simply drive away. Which would you choose?
Luckily, you’re not left with any lingering questions about what would have happened in either of the three scenarios, because you’re gifted the chance to witness them all! Following the threads of each decision, Sew Torn is divided into nice clean chapters that make for a series of very unfortunate events. In fact, the film opens on the aftermath of each possible timeline, and none look especially promising. It seems each choice leads to ruin but it isn’t the destination that counts, right? It’s about the bad guys we outsmarted and the bullets we dodged along the way.
“…a high-stakes crime thriller for everyone that grew up obsessed with choose-your-own-adventure novels”
Despite her timid appearance and fragile nature, the small-town seamstress proves herself to be one hell of an opponent to these ruthless career criminals. Using nothing but the contents of her mobile sewing kit, she outwits, outsmarts, and outguns baddies with elaborate Rune Goldberg-esque contraptions that make Mouse Trap look like Mahjong. The surprise of Barbara’s boobytraps is the real joy of the experience, and trying to explain would do you a disservice. The movie hides nothing in her setup and planning, but it isn’t until the final domino falls that you fully understand the genius of these elaborate, handmade pieces of movie magic. I don’t think I’ve ever been on the edge of my seat, eagerly waiting to see what kind of havoc a little piece of thread was going to wreak. What fun!
Of course, not every decision leads to a happy ending. The movie follows each outcome through to the bitter end, no matter how depressing or disastrous. Each storyline providing fresh interactions with familiar characters, making room for new revelations about not only Barbara’s past, but the circumstances and decisions that lead these mysterious criminals to her doorstep. It’s a tangled web of lives, and a brilliant juggling act of storytelling from co-writers Fred & Freddy Macdonald.
“…filled with deadly Rune Goldberg-esque contraptions that make Mouse Trap look like Mahjong”
Sew Torn is quite a bit more than a fun concept peppered with exciting and thrilling moments of criminal hijinks and suspense. It’s a heck of a lot of fun but it also uses the format to mine deeper and deeper into the characters caught in this kooky three-layered cake of quantum reality. The repetition of some interactions provides little pockets of humor in this surprisingly violent tale while also giving us different avenues to better understand the heartache that time can inflict.
Time is the real enemy of us all. Either it comes for us sooner than we had hoped, or it sticks around only to remind us of everything that it took away. The tick-tick-ticking of time is a shadow that looms over all the characters of Sew Torn and its power is painfully obvious in the tortured performances of Eve Connelly (River Wild, 2023), Calum Worthy (Bodied). And really the entire cast. There are no small roles here and everyone is given their time to shine.
“…a thrilling and unpredictable trio of tales as whimsically wild as they are hilariously heart-breaking”
I like Time ______ movies. Time travel, time loops, non-linear movies that chop up timelines; Time ______ movies are my jam. So, I might be uniquely positioned to appreciate this one, but I’ll be damned if Sew Torn isn’t a thrilling and unpredictable trio of tales as whimsically wild as they are hilariously heart-breaking. Like Home Alone meets Run Lola Run– a comparison that no one involved in the making of Sew Torn will be surprised to hear made- it’s inventive and unique, and jam-packed with criminals getting clobbered by simple household objects.
And now, you’re left with a choice of your own: Do you immediately seek out what could be your new favorite Time ______ movie? Or do you pretend that you don’t like fun and say goodbye to a guaranteed good time? Make your selection now…
Freddy Macdonald’s Sew Torn celebrated its World Premiere at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival. CLick HERE to follow our continued coverage of the fest, including more Time ______ movies, like Things Will Be Different. Let us know if you’re excited to see Sew Torn for yourself and share your own time loop favs with us in the official Nightmare on Film Street discord!
