The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
A movie review by Michael J. Legeros
Copyright 1998 by Michael J. Legeros
(Fine Line)
Directed by Atom Egoyan
Written by Atom Egoyan, based on the novel by Russell Banks
Cast Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Bruce Greenwood, Tom McCamus,
Gabrielle Rose, Arsinee Khanjian, Alberta Watson, Maury
Chaykin
MPAA Rating "R" (presumably for sex, nudity, and profanity)
Running Time 110 minutes
Reviewed at The Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (23JAN98)
==
Ian Holm (THE FIFTH ELEMENT, BIG NIGHT) stars in this quiet, quirky Canadian drama about a remote British Columbia community, a school bus accident that kills a chunk of their children, and the ready-to-sue ambulance-chaser (Holm) who arrives in short order. Writer/director Atom Egoyan (EXOTICA), adapting from the novel by Russell Banks, con- trasts the town's collective grief with Holm's character's struggle to accept the loss of his own child-- a drug-addicted daughter that he can't keep from loving, no matter how many times she breaks his heart. Heavy stuff, but Egoyan has a few tricks up his sleeve to keep the po- tentially wrenching drama at a discretionary distance. (The non-linear story structure, with its interwoven flashbacks, in one such device.) A remarkably centered performance by Holm is the centerpiece of this absorbing and, at times, haunting film. (I was moved, but not to tears. Then again, I'm not a parent, either.) Gorgeous winter photography, too, by Paul Sarossy. With Sarah Polley, Bruce Greenwood, Tom McCamus, Gabrielle Rose, Arsinee Khanjian, SPANKING THE MONKEY's Alberta Watson, and a surprisingly menacing Maury Chaykin.
Grade: A-
-- Mike Legeros - Movie Hell http://www.nonvirtual.com/hell
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