Search - Suture on DVD

People see what they want to see

banditdoc | Newburgh NY USA | 05/23/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I think that's a main point of the movie. The "sophisticated" white society people are ready to embrace the persona of Vincent even though he is obviously black to the viewer of the film, as white, because they believe him to be a white man. The storyline becomes more surreal and incredulous as the plastic surgeon's efforts to recreate his disfigured face result in him not looking like the picture of the white person they had as a reference, but exactly the same as the black actor looked before all the surgery. The clincher for me was hearing the plastic surgeon talk about his nose as being narrow and sophisticated, even though his nose was (to the viewer) obviously a broader nose more typical for a black man - I took this to mean that the plastic surgeon was recreating him to conform not only to the picture but to the image they had of the wealthy socialite, but that only the viewing audience is able to see his true identity, the thing most feared by the white society people - a black "boogey man" (or any man from the "wrong side of the tracks") who unbeknownst to these people is courting and ends up marrying one of their "precious" white daughters . . . very reminiscent of politically charged racial/cultural tension movies of the 1950's and 1960's like "Rebel Without A Cause" or "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" and having strong references to "Romeo and Juliet" - see "West Side Story" !I think this theme is underscored by it having been shot in black-and-white - plus the many juxtapositions: the black and white ink blots another reviewer mentioned; on the street as the main character drives by, two identical minivans side by side, one black, one white; in the climax scene, the black actor's character is hiding behind a white shower curtain. You have to see this movie at least twice as you will be confused too long before you begin appreciating its artistry and oblique references the first time.In a way, this movie tests the viewer as well - it says "just accept the fact that this is a black actor playing a supposedly white character", requiring the viewer to appreciate only the actor's skill, not his skin color, as one should in all questions involving race - look at the person, not the skin color. So if you are disturbed by this movie, you may have to assess your own personal beliefs. The race-bending issue reminds me of the gender-bending actor's issues in "Shakespeare In Love" which portrays a subject that was equally taboo to many people in those days, and would have been equally disturbing to audiences of the period."

Suture: remembering someone eslse's past

John Galvin | Cincinnati,OH | 04/06/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

""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?""