A film that we could say defies classification, but is often described as a neo-noir thriller – one that seems more concerned with how it looks than with what lies underneath its glossy surface, which makes some sense when one realizes that the filmmakers, co-directors, Scott McGehee and David Siegel, have a design school background. But it’s a promising concept with notions of identity and race at its core. Comparisons to the likes of David Lynch, surrealist Luis Bunuel, and Hitchcock have been made.

In short, wealthy white Vincent (played by Michael Harris) and working class black Clay (played by Dennis Haysbert), are long-lost half-brothers who contact each other after their father’s death. Vincent uses the arrival of Clay to engineer his own death; in a twist, Clay survives only to be burnt beyond recognition, and suffers amnesia. At the hospital, a plastic surgeon reconstructs his face, but based on pictures of Vincent, and a psychiatrist helps reconstruct his personality, and memories.

That Vincent is a white man, while Clay is a black man, is lost on everyone else; no one seems to notice the obvious physical difference between the two, and the audience is essentially forced to believe the same.

Equally evocative is the black & white film stock used to shoot this.

I haven’t seen Suture in a long time, but I recall being taken by its visual flare, although found the plot somewhat unintelligible. It was released in 1993, but never really found an audience, despite critical acclaim. I’ll be watching it again shortly to reacquaint myself with it, with a review to follow.

Did you see it? And if so, thoughts? If you haven’t and would like to, Amazon’s got it on DVD. Also, check it out on Netflix.

Here’s its trailer: