Suture

Amazon.com

This black-and-white neo-noir is written and directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, who also teamed up for 1999's Lush. Vincent Towers and Clay Arlington are half-brothers who meet for the first time at their father's funeral. The two share such an uncanny resemblance that when Vincent decides to fake his own death, he tries to substitute Clay as his body. Clay, amnesiac and not quite dead, finds himself the inheritor of both Vincent's money and his rather pressing problems. A fine plot for a suspense movie as it is, but McGehee and Siegel throw in the added twist of having Vincent played by a white actor and Clay by an African American. Oddly enough, the choice works, and raises the piece from a thriller to a meditation on the nature of identity. Suture includes several other interesting stylistic riffs as well: Clay's plastic surgeon is named Renee Descartes, and his psychiatrist works in an office decorated with huge Rorschach blowups. It's a pity Suture was so little seen in its original release--it offers both a compelling suspense plot and tasty mental candy to chew on. --Ali Davis

Description

A stunning first film (The Hollywood Reporter) by the independent writing/directing team of David Siegel and Scott McGehee (Lush), Suture takes a non-traditional approach to casting, placing an African-American actor in the role of an identical brother to a white man. Equally evocative is the choice to shoot in Black and White, adding further contrast to the striking noir style and dark undertones of this exceedingly smart (Variety) psychological thriller. You can barely tell Vincent and Clay apart. So, when these two estranged half-brothers meet for the first time,Vincentthe prime suspect in their father's murderdecides to kill Clay so he can swap identities and pin the crime on his new-found sibling. But Clay miraculously survives the attempt on his life. And now, suffering from amnesia and thinking he's Vincent, Clay must prove that he's not the killer before he's sentenced to life for the crime he believes he didn't commit!

Customer Reviews:

Why doesn't anyone notice what an amateur film this is?.......2007-07-29

In most of the reviews I have read about this film here and elsewhere, the reviewers of this film go on about the fact that no one in the film notices that the two brothers don't look alike when they are actually supposed to be twins--a fact they extoll as a clever and "arty" deconstruction of race (given one is black, the other white), or puzzle about as if it were some deep mystery of identity. What I'd like to know is how come very few of the reviewers notice that the film looks like the work of a clever but shallow film-school student who is more concerned with the trick shots and quoting other films than doing anything of real substance? A cult classic? Maybe for 20-something film geeks, but mere fluff for anyone who appreciates film noir and neo-noir. Spend your hard-earned cash on Nolan's Memento instead, which goes much deeper into these themes, and is a far, far more accomplished film. I give the second star because at least they took some risks, which is more than I can say for the usual studio drivel.

Suture: remembering someone eslse's past.......2005-04-07

"How is it that we know who we are?" These are the opening words of the film Suture, delivered in voice-over by Dr Shimoda. He starts at a violent twist near the conclusion-which gives an unexpected answer to his question--but then decides that it would be better to start a little nearer to the beginning. So we fade to Clay Arlington stepping off a bus to be greeted by his estranged half-brother Vincent Towers. Vincent and Clay, it would seem, are almost physically indistinguishable--a fact which had inspired Vincent to invite Clay to pay him a visit. It seems they saw one another for the first time at the funeral of their father whom Vincent is suspected of having murdered. And Vincent now plans to kill Clay whom he hopes will be mistaken for himself. Clay miraculously survives though both mind and body are shattered. Plastic surgeon Renee Descartes will reconstruct his face; psychotherapist Shimoda will reconstruct his identity. Unfortunately, they, like everyone else, believe him to be Vincent and so, little by little, fit him into the mind and body of his brother. Pictures, videos and reminiscences with a relative supply Clay with pieces of a puzzle that are shaped like his own but which, once in place, paint a very different picture.

Clay was working-class; Vincent, a rich dilettante. Clay was warm, earnest and unassuming; Vincent, cold, deceitful and calculating. They were really very different people, as different as night and day. In fact, the differences in their characters are so pronounced they actually manifest themselves physically. The actor playing Clay is tall, beefy and black while the actor playing Vincent-his near twin-is short, thin and white. Elements of the dialog are then very much at odds with the visuals that receive, in turn, even greater thematic focus through the brilliantly articulated contrasts of the black and white cinematography. In the end, you are presented with some rather interesting, if perplexing, questions about the puzzle of identity: what does it mean to remember someone else's past? to graft bits and pieces of one life onto the withered remains of another? to eventually mistake oneself for the self of another? Who exactly have you become? Who should you want to become? Clay's answer is an uncomfortable surprise and Dr Shimoda can only wonder, finally, "How is it that we know who we are?"

Brilliantly put together with masterly maintenance of tone.......2004-06-07

An anecdote doing the traps recently had an Australian tourist order a "short black" in a diner in the States. An electric hush fell over the clientele. The tourist meant a cup of coffee made with hot water not milk and without cream, milk or additives. Clearly, being black in America remains a significant negative element in that country's psyche or at least so it seems to outsiders. A number of American films continue to address that issue in any case. SUTURE is one of the better ones and has the quality of dream in that the viewer has their nerves tested throughout not knowing what is to come next. With a consistently high level of suspense, excellent use of sound, and stunning in black and white, with an intriguing take on identity, race and memory, this is one to own.

thrilling, intelligent, symbollic and I just can't forget it.......2003-01-02

I've seen this movie eight years ago and still think about it. This movie +simply is very, very intelligent and true. And in the same time it is very simple. It's about the racial madness of the american society. I can't think of better words to discribe the essence of this picture than those of James Baldwin, the negro american poet.
'You don't see me, I'm your black cat. You don't love me, I see that.'
and also:
'Okay. I'm your ... baby, 'till I get bigger!'
We, the viewer, see what happens every day in the american society (and of course in any other racist society): the black man is not seen, he simply is not there. And his white brother trys to kill him.
The story: The black man comes to get to know his white brother, but he, grimly with hate, seeks to kill him.
In the end, grinning and happy, the black man will tell the viewer why he accepts to play on the game and take the place of his dead white brother. And again, he could be saying the words of James Baldwin: 'And then, false lover, you will know, what love has managed here below.'
For me one of the best pictures I've ever seen. Inriching (if this word exists in english- sorry, I'm german.)

body-horror marvel.......2002-05-25

this is a very intriging film. it takes suspension of disbelief to a whole new level because it's two main characters - brothers deemed almost identical by those around them - are played by a skinny white man and a well built black man.
this wierdness works very well in a film centered on identity issues. white brother is rich and black brother is poor. they meet after their fathers funeral. white brother appears nervous - he appears to assume that black brother wants money. but black brother wants nothing of the sort - he just wants to meet his blood kin then go home.
white brother has many problems, and takes the opportunity to try and kill black brother and set it up as his own suicide - ie. to vanish. unfortunately, black brother survives the car bomb and is mistaken by everyone around as white brother - they look alike afterall (to everyone but the viewer) and he is covered in bandages.
as the film progresses, black brother stats to absorb the life and personality of white brother.

an interesting essay on identity which is filled with strong body-horror concepts, such as the effect our body has on our mind and the effect our surroundings can have on us. well worth the effort, especially for those who like intellectual horror but dont have the stomach for the likes of audition

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