Suit Hung. Tied Tongue.

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.

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.

Unfortunately not everyone is as honest and supportive as they should be towards irish film and filmmakers. This film has so many 1 star reviews that all come from the same place (u.k) and more than likely the same spiteful person. I enjoyed Suit Hung Tied Tongue. It's interesting, provides some relevant social commentary but perhaps gets into a bit tinfoil-hat territory at times. But I suppose, it's a movie. I was really impressed by the score, the home video footage of Freddie and Sean, the montage sequences and the rather ambivalent ending. I disagree with the brothers actions whole heartedly, but I don't think the film sets out to say that they were right, I think it just says " there's mad yokes out there who would actually do this" and to be honest we're getting into that territory. It's well worth a watch. It combines crime doc with video journal well, kinda like giving you the literal two sides in Ireland - the side of the people and the side the media portray. It's interesting, it's dark and it's a far cry from a 1 star movie. And I believe it was made for like 20k so hats off to the crew. Watch it! 7/10.

I really appreciate filmmakers like this who are still out there trying to tell stories. I read this film was made with a budget of 10 thousand euro which is impressive considering the story that is told here. I don't want to spoil it but it was slow in the first 20 mins but by about the 35 min mark I was hooked by it till the end. The story just keeps escalating and makes a great point about who is making decisions for you and the effects it has on society as a whole. If you're looking for a giant epic scale in a CGI world...this is not that. If you're interested in a concisely told story that raises some valid questions, you're gonna have a good time 👍 very clever film.

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.