The Hanging Garden (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:For Template:Infobox film

The Hanging Garden is a British-Canadian drama film, written and directed by Thom Fitzgerald and released in 1997.<ref name=canenc>Wyndham Wise, "The Hanging Garden". The Canadian Encyclopedia, October 8, 2009.</ref> Fitzgerald's feature debut, the film was shot in Nova Scotia.

Plot

The film's central character is Sweet William, as both a thin adult and a fat teenager. Its plot hinges on a fateful incident from his teenage years, when his grandmother caught him attempting to have sex with his bisexual friend Fletcher, involuntarily outing him to his dysfunctional family as gay.

As a consequence of the ensuing rejection, particularly by his alcoholic father Whiskey Mac, Sweet William faced the difficult decision of whether to run away to live in a big city far away from his family, or to commit suicide by hanging himself from a tree in the family garden. The film's themes about the duality of life and death, and the way seemingly very different choices in life can lead to similar outcomes, are portrayed through magic realism in the film's depiction of a complex merged reality in which William appears to have successfully made both choices at the same time.<ref name=magical>"Magical Garden: Thom Fitzgerald used creative thinking to nurture debut feature that opens Perspective Canada series". Toronto Star, September 5, 1997.</ref>

The film is told as a triptych. In the first segment, set in the present, the adult Sweet William has returned home to rural Nova Scotia for the first time since leaving ten years earlier, to attend the wedding of his sister Rosemary to Fletcher. However, upon his return, he makes two unexpected discoveries: he can still see his younger selves living there and walking around the house, and he also has a new young pre-teen sister named Violet, whom he has never met because she was born after he left. The second segment, set in the past, tells the story of Sweet William's teenage years leading up to the critical decision, including his bond with Rosemary and their mother Iris's struggles to protect her children from Whiskey Mac's abuse, as well as revealing the truth of Violet's origins, before ending with Sweet William's suicide. Returning to the present, the final segment features both the living adult and dead teenage Sweet William present in the same realityTemplate:Spndand the dead body is not just in his imagination, because the rest of his family can also see it still hanging from the tree.<ref name=variety>"The Hanging Garden". Variety, September 12, 1997.</ref>

According to Fitzgerald, "To every event in the film there are two interpretations. He left home and now he's back and his memory is haunting them. Or he did commit suicide when young and his homecoming is a fantasy?"<ref>"Filmmaker's money problems may end with new movie". Canadian Press, September 7, 1997.</ref>

Cast

Distribution

The film premiered at the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival.<ref>"Festival gets Maritimes perspective Nova Scotia director Thom Fitzgerald's first feature kicks off Toronto film event's special series". The Globe and Mail, July 30, 1997.</ref>

It subsequently screened at the 1997 Atlantic Film Festival,<ref>"Garden lives up to the buzz: Fitzgerald's film brave story of love, redemption, rescue". Halifax Daily News, September 19, 1997.</ref> the 1997 Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival,<ref name=cinefest>"Journal". Playback, November 3, 1997.</ref> and the 1997 Vancouver International Film Festival.<ref name=viff>"The Hanging Garden provocative, realistic and darkly comic". Waterloo Region Record, November 13, 1997.</ref>

It premiered in the United States at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival,<ref>"Hanging Gardens director off to Sundance: Four years ago, Thom Fitzgerald quit his day job and began to write a screenplay. Next week, his acclaimed feature film opens at North America's premiere indie film festival". Montreal Gazette, January 17, 1998.</ref> before going into wider theatrical release.

Critical reception

Roger Ebert favourably reviewed the film, writing that "It may be magic realism, but isn't it also the simple truth? Don't the ghosts of our former selves attend family events right along with our current manifestations? Don't parents still sometimes relate to us as if we were children, don't siblings still carry old resentments, aren't old friends still stuck on who we used to be? And don't we sometimes resurrect old personas and dust them off for a return engagement? Aren't all of those selves stored away inside somewhere?"<ref>Roger Ebert, The Hanging Garden. RogerEbert.com, May 29, 1998.</ref>

For Variety, Brendan Kelly wrote that "'The Hanging Garden' is often in danger of seeming overly pretentious, but Fitzgerald wisely undercuts the formal artiness with strong, emotional storytelling. In many ways, this is a simple yarn of a son dealing with the usual family demons and, on that level, is an affecting piece of filmmaking. Beyond that, the mix of film-school formalism and down-to-earth drama makes the pic a unique offering."<ref name=variety/>

In 2001, an industry poll conducted by Playback named it the 11th best Canadian film of the preceding 15 years.<ref>Michael Posner, "Egoyan tops film poll". The Globe and Mail, November 25, 2001.</ref>

Awards

Award Year Category Recipient Result Template:Abbr
Toronto International Film Festival 1997 People's Choice Award The Hanging Garden Template:Won <ref name=tiff>"Hanging Garden wins two awards". The Globe and Mail, September 15, 1997.</ref>
Best Canadian Film
tied with The Sweet Hereafter 		Template:Won
Atlantic International Film Festival 1997 Audience Award Template:Won <ref>"Hanging Garden tops at awards". Waterloo Region Record, September 30, 1997.</ref>
Best Canadian Film Template:Won
Best Atlantic Film Template:Won
Best Direction Thom Fitzgerald Template:Won
Best Screenplay Template:Won
Best Actor Troy Veinotte Template:Won
Best Actress Joan Orenstein Template:Won
Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival Best Canadian Film The Hanging Garden Template:Won <ref name=cinefest/>
Vancouver International Film Festival Best Canadian Film Template:Won <ref name=viff/>
Genie Awards 1997 Best Picture Thom Fitzgerald, Louise Garfield Template:Nom <ref name=genienom>"Egoyan film leads nominations". Victoria Times-Colonist, November 5, 2017.</ref>
Best Director Thom Fitzgerald Template:Nom
Best Supporting Actor Peter MacNeill Template:Won <ref name=geniewins>"Sweet Hereafter wins 8 Genies". Waterloo Region Record, December 15, 1997.</ref>
Best Supporting Actress Seana McKenna Template:Won
Kerry Fox Template:Nom <ref name=genienom/>
Joan Orenstein Template:Nom
Best Screenplay Thom Fitzgerald Template:Won <ref name=geniewins/>
Best Art Direction/Production Design Taavo Soodor, Darlene Shiels Template:Nom <ref name=genienom/>
Best Costume Design James A. Worthen Template:Nom
Best Editing Susan Shanks Template:Nom
Best Overall Sound Peter Harper, Phillipe Espantoso, George Hannan Template:Nom
Claude Jutra Award Thom Fitzgerald Template:Won <ref name=geniewins/>
Toronto Film Critics Association 1997 Best Canadian Film The Hanging Garden Template:Nom <ref>Liam Lacey, "Egoyan film top pick". The Globe and Mail, January 15, 1998.</ref>
GLAAD Media Award 1999 Outstanding Film - Limited Release Template:Nom <ref>"GLAAD bows media noms". Variety, January 19, 1999.</ref>

Soundtrack

A soundtrack album was released in 1997 on Virgin Music Canada.<ref>"Album captures spirit of award-winning film". Halifax Daily News, November 14, 1997.</ref>

  1. Ani DiFranco, "The Million You Never Made"
  2. Ashley MacIsaac, "Ashley's Reels"
  3. Mae Moore, "Deep Water"
  4. Spirit of the West, "Kiss and Tell"
  5. Jane Siberry, "When Spring Comes"
  6. Holly Cole, "Petals in a Stream"
  7. The Rankin Family, "Sir James Baird"
  8. Meryn Cadell and Mary Margaret O'Hara, "Wash Down"
  9. Mary Jane Lamond, "Ba Ba Mo Leanabh"
  10. Lori Yates, "The Future is Here"
  11. Deb Montgomery, "The Tale"
  12. Aether, "Half Light"
  13. Laurel MacDonald, "Oran na h'eala"
  14. John Roby, "Theme from The Hanging Garden"
  15. Leahy, "Colm Quigley"
  16. Wyrd Sisters, "If it Ain't Here"

References

Template:Reflist 

 | title/{{#if: {{#invoke:ustring|match|1=0125128|2=^tt}}
   | Template:Trim/
   | tt0125128/
   }}
 | {{#if: {{#property:P345|from=}}
   | title/Template:First word/
   | find?q=%5B%5B%3ATemplate%3APAGENAMEBASE%5D%5D&s=tt
   }}
 }}{{#ifeq: {{#invoke:If any equal|main|Q618779|Q67325957|Q33999|value=Template:Wikidata}} | yes 
     | {{#switch: Template:Wikidata 
       | Q618779 
       | Q67325957  = awards Awards for
       | Q33999  = fullcredits Full cast and crew of
       }}
   | {{#if: Template:Wikidata 
     | {{#switch: Template:Wikidata
       | Q63032896 
       | Q66763446  = fullcredits Full cast and crew of
       | Q107974527 
       | Q482994  = soundtrack Soundtrack of
       }}
     }}
   }} Template:Trim] at {{#if: | IMDb | IMDb }}Template:EditAtWikidata{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:IMDb title with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|showblankpositional=1| 1 | 2 | 3 | description | id | link_hide | qid | quotes | title }}{{#switch: {{#invoke:String2|matchAny|^tt.........|^tt.......|tt|.........|source=0125128|plain=false}}| 1 | 3 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning| 4 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning}}{{#if: 0125128 {{#property:P345}} || Template:Preview warningTemplate:Main other }}{{#switch: Template:Wikidata

| Q21191270 | Q21664088 | Q50062923 | Q50914552 | Q99079902 | Q123186929 | Q55422400 | Q61220733 = Template:Preview warning | Q3464665 = Template:Preview warning }}{{#ifeq: Template:Wikidata | Q21191270 | Template:Preview warning }}{{#if: 0125128 | Template:WikidataCheck }}

Template:Thom Fitzgerald Template:John Dunning Award Template:TIFF People's Choice Award Template:TIFF Best Canadian Film

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=The_Hanging_Garden_(film)&oldid=130313"