Suture (1993)

Must See Movie...

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Suture is written and directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel. It stars Dennis Haysbert, Mel Harris, Sab Shimono, Dina Merrill and Michael Harris. Music is by Cary Berger and cinematography by Greg Gardiner.Identity is the crisis can't you see - X-Ray Spex 1978Suture is an unusual film that on the surface hangs its chief premise on a most ridiculous concept. Yet what is most striking about the film's heart and soul is that it embraces a number of staple film noir narrative threads. Photographed in spanking monochrome, and featuring an unnerving musical score, this surreal like play works with a cheeky glint in its eye as it challenges the viewer's perception of the unfurling story.Wrapped around a suggested agony of identity, Suture revels in films and styles of film making it is influenced by. Name checking them all is folly, but as the amnesia angle blends with surgical reconstruction, and the murder plot betrayal sidles up to the voiceover, other potent pics spring instantly to mind. And yet in a piece heavy on identity, Suture, in spite of its reliance on influences, does have its own identity, very much so.It's quite a debut from McGehee and Siegel, one that begs the question of why they didn't go on to greater things? Here they have great camera craft, with close ups, overheads and frame blends in action, while there's some striking imagery and noirville shadow play to take in as mood setting accompaniments. It could be argued that much of it is highfalutin, and that the philosophical probing is overkill, but the film remains unique and intriguing, if not as remotely thrilling as one hoped. 7/10

"Suture" is indeed a thought provoking, even mesmerising film at times. The entire show endeavours to answer the psychological question posed at the very beginning of the film: "How is it we know who we are? Are we the person we think we are?".I must say I've never seen anything quite like Scott McGehee and David Siegel's "Suture". The pair wrote, produced and directed this film which steps away from the traditional path of entertainment to a wholly philosophical, psychological one. Viewers will not find themselves concerned with such trivia as performances, costumes, cinematography or sets, but rather issues, questions and statements. Issues such as self-awareness, questions such as: "Can we become someone else?", and statements such as: "Skin colour has no relevance to the identification of self". In their black and white feature, McGehee and Siegel fail to differentiate between and African/American man and a man of European descent. We're concerned not with the physical here, but the meta-physical.As for the answers to these conundrums, one can only reach one's own conclusions. For me though, the personal soul is unchangeable and cannot be interchanged for another's. We may take someone's place, but we cannot become who they are.Monday, May 5, 1997 - Hoyts Croydon

The thing that makes this film kind of odd, is the fact that they use two completly differant looking people to be confused as the same person. While it is kind of a bothersome gimmick at first, it grows on you, and you soon forget it. Not bad, there is some good acting, and I kind of like the fact that it was in black and white. This is not for everybody though.

If you're the type of guy that likes trying to figure out 'whats the deeper meaning' of the film, or like an expression we use ' what does the poet wanna say' then see it.If then again you like Hollywood crap, avoid this one, as its in Black&White :POther than a HUGE plot gap, which is surely deliberate and thats what the whole enigma is about, he film is really nice made mystery / character development film with lots of good ideas. Maybe it inspired MEMENTO a bit.