Egoyan's Quintessential Masterpiece (+ DVD Review)
Written: Dec 19 '00
Product Rating:
Pros: Passionately moving drama / Engaging story about deep human emotions / The entire cast is perfect, most notably the brilliant lead performance by Ian Holm
Cons: If you cannot take slow films, this is probably not for you
Atom Egoyan's (Exotica, Felicia's Journey) 1997 film, The Sweet Hereafter, is one of the most powerful and touching dramas of the past decade. Although the film was rightfully critically acclaimed, it has been largely overlooked by the general public. It won an incredible seven Genie Awards (Canada's equivalent of the Oscars) and was nominated for eight more! At the Academy Awards, Egoyan was nominated for best director and best adaptation of a screenplay, but he failed to win in either category.
Sir Ian Holm (Joe Gould's Secret) stars as Mitchell Stephens, a lawyer who comes to a small Canadian town to help out some of its grieving citizens. A horrifying school bus accident recently occurred on the town's icy roads, killing 14 of the 22 students on board. Mitchell goes door to door speaking to mourning families, rallying support for a collective suit that he plans to file against someone, anyone, on whom they can place the blame. But Mitchell is not one of the money-grubbing, stereotypical lawyers so often portrayed on film. He wants to win the suit, not for the money (though he would take his standard 1/3), but because it would help prevent future tragedies by urging the guilty party to implement further safety precautions.
Mitchell is able to sympathize with the families' grief because he too has lost a child. His twenty-something daughter, Zoe, has been in and out of drug rehabilitation programs for years. She frequently calls Mitchell on his cell phone asking for money, but she never offers him the love that he so desires. Although he has relentlessly tried to get her back, she is far removed too from him to return.
Not only are we immersed into Mitchell's personal and business life, but we also meet and come to feel for many families of the victims of the accident. There is Dolores (Gabrielle Rose), the driver of the bus, and one of the few survivors. She thinks of herself as a mother to all of the town's children, and thus she is as devastated as, or even more so than, the other parents.
We also come to know Nicole Burnell (Sarah Polley - Go, Exotica), another crippled survivor of the accident. She was a good friend to many of the children, a babysitter to some, and an adopted older sister to many more. When Nicole returns home, from the hospital, she finds that her parents have already spent some of the money they plan on winning to spruce up her room and make her feel more comfortable. Although she is paralyzed from the waist down, we quickly realize that Nicole does not want to be treated special and may even feel a little guilty for surviving the accident. Her story escalates as it becomes apparent that her testimony will be necessary for the pending lawsuit to be successful.
The Sweet Hereafter is filled with touching characters and many memorable performances. Like in Exotica, Egoyan's other exquisite work, we are submerged so deeply into the character's lives, that we forget that what we are witnessing is only a film. The only drawbacks to Egoyan's work are that he always creeps his films along at a pace to which many moviegoers are unaccustomed, and viewers must pay close attention to understand his stories and realize their full emotional potential. Casting aside these minor complaints from an impatient or halfhearted audience, the film's script is perfect, the acting is unbelievably real, the settings and cinematography are breathtaking, and the score is beautiful and haunting at the same time.
There are no good guys or bad guys in this tale, just real people, some who have different opinions of what's right and what's wrong. Mitchell and families who trust him believe that the suit is necessary because it will possibly prevent future tragedies. Others believe that no matter how horrible the accident was, it must be left as an accident so that everyone can get on with their lives. They feel that no one should be blamed or sued, and no one should get any money out of the situation. Which side is right? This question is left to the viewer to answer as no right or wrong answer is ever given, or really, ever can be concluded. The film's tagline sums it up best: "There is no such thing as the simple truth."
Few films can actually bring me to tears, but The Sweet Hereafter is high on the list of those which do. I beg you, when you are in the mood for an emotional experience, go to the drama section of your video store (or better yet, check out the remarkable DVD) and give this and Egoyan's other films, Exotica and Felicia's Journey, a chance to touch your heart.
10 out of 10.
My Best of the 90s List: #13
Rated R for sexuality, nudity and language
DVD Extras: Although Exotica received terrible treatment in its DVD release by Disney a few years ago, New Line does wonders with Sweet Hereafter in its popular Platinum Series. The film is presented in its original widescreen, 2.35:1 format, which only enhances the luscious scenery of the snow covered mountainous regions.
A 35 minute featurette entitled "Before and After The Sweet Hereafter" contains footage from a convention where Egoyan briefly speaks about adapting the book to film and then lets the book's author, Russell Banks, take over. Banks also discusses the adaptation and differences between the book and film before passionately reading some excerpts from the book itself.
"The Charlie Rose Show" is a twenty five minute clip of Egoyan's appearance on Rose's interview show. The two of them of course discuss the film, but they also go somewhat into Egoyan's other films, particularly Exotica. As a big fan of Egoyan's work, I found this piece to be very interesting.
"The Pied Piper of Hamelin" section presents this entire poem in storyboard form with illustrations. In the film, while babysitting, Nicole reads parts of the poem, which in many ways parallels the film, to some children.
Also included on the disc is an audio commentary by Egoyan and Russell Banks. They run a very interesting dialogue about differences between the novel and film and how these changes of Egoyan's enhance the filmed version. They even invoke a few moments of humor, which the film itself completely lacks.
The film's isolated score, U.S. and Canadian trailers, and biographies and filmographies round out the excellent DVD extras. Unfortunately, the "Q and A interviews with cast members" feature advertised on the DVD is just not there. If The Sweet Hereafter does not capture your interest, then you would have no use for this extra material. But if you are anywhere near as impressed with the film as I am, you will find the DVD to be an extraordinary addition to your collection.
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