‘Sew Torn’ Review – A Patchwork Of Ideas That Falls Apart At The Stitches

Through the spools of thread and string, there is quite a yarn in Sew Torn. The performances are fine, and the premise is a unique philosophical and moral quandary. The threads are tight, but they are not without disappointment. Somewhere, there is a thread to follow. However, the execution is doggedly painful. By the end, the threads barely cling together, and this entire piece comes apart at the seams. It is a patchwork of comedy and crime that tries to be many things but falls short of its ambitions.

Barbara Duggen (Eve Connolly) is known as ‘The Mobile Seamstress’. While working to make a living, she struggles 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 bad drug deal. Faced with two downed motorcyclists, guns, and a briefcase, Barbara is completely torn. She is forced to pick between three choices: commit the perfect crime, call the police, or drive away. The narrative presents the repercussions of all three decisions and the deadly confrontations that result from each as she entangles herself with the case’s owner. Using threads to free herself, Barbara stops at nothing to save her store.

The film works across the narrative of three different yet similar stories. Each piece presents a choice for Barbara. The stories offer a differing shade of her personality while unifying them with the same goal of her trying to save her family’s fabric shop. The story presents itself by offering moral choices to Barbara as she confronts each new challenge. These challenges arise from the age-old concept of the wrong place and wrong time. At the center of this black comedy is a personal story about severing ties to the past and moving forward. The downside is that we do not move forward, which makes the story feel like it is in a loop. 

There is a pick-your-own adventure to the story that is both engaging and frustrating. As a result, the film yo-yos. It is a jarring personal story about the decision and the effects, and a muddled black comedy that is as indecisive as the character, Barbara.  

At the start, we learn Barbara’s late mother was a renowned seamstress and started the shop, which Barbara is desperate to save. There is a through line that ties this together that centers on guilt. As Barbara struggles to keep up the business, she is hopeless. She is simply doing this to honor her mother’s memory, regardless of its impact on her life and livelihood. Barbara keeps circling back on each detour to save the business.

A parallel story involving the son (Calum Worthy) trying to rid himself of his ties to this crime lord (John Lynch), who happens to be his father. Here is the film’s central theme and ultimate point. Life is about moving on. The ties to one’s past can be both nurturing and restricting. Barbara finds herself in the same position from the start, and each of these decisions she makes underscores her burning desire to sever all threads.

The issue is that the film tangles itself in its antics, and the narrative becomes lost. We forget whether we are watching a comedy or a drama. There are genuine moments of humor, and much of that is from Connolly’s performances. She is sensational when the script allows her to cut loose. Her ‘interpretive dance’ set to the song “The Sewing Machine” is a hilarious moment, but again, it feels out of place given the more serious story beats seen earlier in the film.

Of course, comedy and drama can mesh well together, but here is the feeling: the movie is a patchwork of ideas, unable to decide on the tone and ultimate conclusion. The audience will undoubtedly debate the decisions Barbara makes in each of the three narrative choices, but to arrive at any larger conclusion feels threadbare.  

Sew Torn will debut in theaters on May 9, 2025, courtesy of Sunrise Films.