Netflix’s Perfect Comedy Thriller Is All About Choices And Consequences

By Robert Scucci
| Published 23 seconds ago

I wish real life were more like 2024’s Sew Torn so I could weigh the pros and cons of my actions before I actually have to make a crucial life decision. It’s been a while since I’ve watched a crime thriller that plays with a branching narrative format, allowing its protagonist to consider the consequences before finally pulling the metaphorical and literal trigger on which path she wants to take. If you grew up with those choose your own adventure books, anxiously keeping your thumb on the page where the road forks in case you run into disaster and want to turn back unscathed, Sew Torn is right up your alley. In this case, whatever unfortunate reality unfolds isn’t your fault. You’re just along for the ride.

Half the fun in watching Sew Torn is witnessing how each scenario epically backfires before the realization sets in that maybe something more deterministic is at play. Or, even more interesting to consider, maybe our hero is spending too much time and energy making a decision at the wrong fork in the road altogether, setting off a chain of events that were never meant for her in the first place.

Branching Narrative Executed To Perfection

Sew Torn thrives on its quaint small town charm, which allows the increasingly absurd events to feel grounded because they unfold in such a contained world. Barbara (Eve Connolly) is a struggling mobile seamstress who is trying her hardest to keep her late mother’s business alive, even though she has completely lost her passion for the craft. The business specializes in talking quilts made possible by sound chips sewn directly into the upholstery, functioning much like those novelty greeting cards that play a recorded message when you open them.

Barbara is an immensely talented seamstress, and there’s something beautiful about someone who is so clearly good at what they do but no longer cares about it. It’s as if she has mastered her craft out of spite, living in the apartment above her business that is decorated with crisscrossing patterns of yarn and keepsakes operated by an elaborate pulley system she navigates effortlessly.

On her way back from an appointment to fix her only client Grace’s (Caroline Goodall) wedding dress, Barbara encounters two bikers who have clearly been involved in a violent altercation that resulted in a near fatal crash. She notices a briefcase in the middle of the wreckage and immediately runs through three possible scenarios in her head: commit the perfect crime, call the police, or drive away.

After Sew Torn’s initial setup, we get three acts that play out exactly like that. We learn that committing the perfect crime is far messier than Barbara anticipated, calling the police can spiral into potential disaster, and driving away comes with its own unexpected complications. What we don’t know is how any of these scenarios will ultimately end before we hit the same crossroads again and Barbara is forced to make a final decision.

Though these three scenarios result in wildly different outcomes, we are introduced to the same core players each time. The bikers Joshua (Calum Worthy) and Beck (Thomas Douglas), the ruthless crime lord they work for named Hudson (John Lynch), and the local sheriff Ms. Engel (K. Callan). Through these interactions, we learn everyone’s motives as viewers, but Barbara’s limited perspective prevents any of the information revealed to the audience from influencing her decision making in real time.

Barbara’s Talent Is Insane

Quirky choose your own adventure framework aside, the real appeal of Sew Torn is just how absurdly talented Barbara is with her sewing kit. She’s like Mozart but with string. With a completely flat expression, her fingers work miracles as she constructs booby traps and escape methods using nothing more than spools of yarn, sewing needles, and a level of savant-like skill that only comes from begrudgingly mastering a craft to honor her mother’s wishes.

There’s real ingenuity on display as Barbara applies knowledge from the only world she knows to survive in unfamiliar and dangerous territory. I never once questioned the physics of what she pulls off in Sew Torn because Eve Connolly sells every moment with her deadpan, slightly bewildered delivery.

As the three separate stories unravel in Sew Torn, you’ll start wondering if there is even a single scenario where Barbara makes it out the other side in one piece. Half the fun is watching her try to determine whether that outcome is possible at all. The only way to find out Barbara’s fate in Sew Torn is to fire up Netflix, hit play, and let the yarn spin on its own terms.