Suit Hung. Tied Tongue.

I was surprised by this irish indie feature i must say. I haven't held much hope for irish cinema in recent years as i feel there are no ambitious or edgy films that tackle real issues in interesting ways. However suit hung tied tongue did exactly that. It is very slickly told, well written piece of dystopian fiction-cum-documentary that at times feels a little too real. I was most impressed by the performance of the two leads playing the halpin brothers along with a wonderful score that can fluctuate between big and bombastic to reflective and sombre. I agree that at times the acting from side characters may not have set the world alight but i am aware of the tiny budget and limitations that the crew would have faced, so i was willing to push that aside. It felt quite grounded and was an accurate reflection of how a lot of young people feel in western society today, bet down by the powers that be and wanting change, drastically.

I very much enjoyed this debut feature film from Sau Dachi. Suit Hung Tied Tongue weaves a dark fable of the dangers of lies and corruption by a dishonest and immoral state. When their mother dies in a health scandal, young Sean Halpin and his idealistic and artistic brother Fred become radicalized against their corrupt government, creating anonymous threatening videos and posting them on an online forum, stating that in a month's time, a top Irish government official will be murdered.

I completely disagree with those who say this film moves "too slowly", maybe our attention spans are getting worse. I was intrigued from the opening and shocked by the end. Talking with a couple of members of the audience, we agreed that despite what your opinion may be on this film, it does feel very grounded. Yes the politicians talk in a heightened way, yes you can have all the inside information on how the police would've caught these killers before they could act on their threats, yes you can slate some of the actors but for christ's sake, it's an independent feature film and a very good one at that. It's entertainment that feeds discussions about state rhetoric ( a lot of which is based in actual reality, sadly). Something I picked up on that i very much appreciated was the detectives discussing which of the brothers was more "willing" or a "ring leader" in the crime. While the older Sean often gets the title of the man with the plan because of his journals based in fact (detailing the government corruption he found from reading and deep-diving online), the detectives and psychoanalysts dismiss the younger Freddie's role, as all of his actions are based in art - making the masks they wear in their threats, writing poems detailing how they will enact revenge. I felt this showed the power of art and how it is often overlooked by governments and heads of state who are only interested in making money. They paid no attention to the poetry, only the journals written by Sean which described how corrupt they were.

It also features a montage about forty minutes in that is one of the most exhilarating, beautiful written, masterfully scored, precisely cut and woefully foreboding sequences I've seen in an Irish or UK feature film in 20 years and these are INDIE FILM MAKERS??

Yeah, it's not perfect. No film is a solid 10 for me, but this is a very strong independent feature film that I hope more people get to see. 7/10.

When something is indie you really do have to cut it slack when it comes to certain aspects of filmmaking. While I wasn't crazy about a lot of the acting in this debut feature from Sau Dachi, I feel there's a very promising and ambitious director behind the camera. I have never seen an indie film tackle such a huge issue ( a national crime that sparks outrage) and do it in a way that at times feels leagues above what an indie film should be capable of. I feel this film has been getting a lot of unfair treatment in the ratings section so I'm here to set the record straight as an aged cineaste who has seen A LOT of stuff....so here we go. Watch it, it's good, at times epic, at times slow, at times the acting is questionable but it's believable and captures a real disdain for authority and government that I think is becoming very tangible in Europe. Well done everyone involved. I would love to see what this crew could do with an actual budget.

Fantasic watch.

The pacing of the movie builds tension from start to finish, underpinned by a tense and dramatic score. The choice of cameras, as well as the parallels drawn with real events, lend to the feeling that you are watching a true crime documentary.

Some incredible performances throughout, not least by the two leads, Paul St. Leger and Alex Eydt. Their natural chemistry add to the believability of the story and leave you with conflicting emotions as you watch the story unfold.

This will no doubt be a polarizing movie. Whether you agree with the actions of the brothers, or not, this movie will leave you with a knot in your stomach long after the movie ends.

It's hard to know what you're gonna get from indie cinema considering the restraints in budget and talent available. But by the looks, Dachi and co pulled together a lot of talent for this dark fable about societal rage and revenge. I remember seeing his debut short film at a festival in 2021 and being quite impressed, but this is not the type of film I thought he would go on to make. And maybe that was naive of me, considering how his debut film deconstructed the way horror movies are made, maybe it makes sense he would go on to make a fake documentary that is constantly blurring the lines between perspectives and leaving the viewer unsure of who is in control of the narrative (much like most true crimes, two sides to every story eh?)

It's slow burning at the start, one can only think of "The Manchurian Candidate"'s publicity notices of "if you arrive after 5 minutes, you won't know what this story is about". And that's a good thing, I think viewers should be engaging more with cinema regardless of the maker.

35 minutes or so is the turning point, a dark turning point as we start to realize where this tale is going. It's cleverly told with slick editing (love some of the mirroring and foreshadowing in montages) and possibly one the best musical scores I've heard in an indie feature coming from Ireland, if not further afield. The two leads are the cream that rise to the top in terms of the on-camera talent. Their home video footage feels very personal and natural while being eerily unsettling, similar to the tapes from Columbine or some other well-covered massacre. The strangest thing about this film is that it feels like something that has happened or is going to happen, and given the tense political climate of Ireland today, would you be surprised?

I think it'll lose some people, it's not a standard film nor does it want to be. It's a pseudo documentary that sometimes blurs the lines between fly on the wall and third person perspective and that is something that may be lost on the average viewer. It's slow at the start but it picks up pace and doesn't stop until about two minutes from the end. I look forward to seeing what Sau Dachi does next as I feel this is a very strong start in a director's career. I like seeing filmmakers tell stories in interesting ways, and "Suit Hung Tied Tongue" is definitely one of those stories. Bualadh bos to everyone involved.