The Hanging Garden (1997)
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94% of critics liked it
(16 reviews) -
68% of users liked it
(1,623 ratings)
Ten years after he disappeared from his family's life, Sweet William (Chris Leavins) returns home to Nova Scotia for his sister's wedding. Despite the fact that he's gone from a morbidly obese adolescent to a thin, handsome, self-assured young man, the reunion proves bittersweet.… More Ten years after he disappeared from his family's life, Sweet William (Chris Leavins) returns home to Nova Scotia for his sister's wedding. Despite the fact that he's gone from a morbidly obese adolescent to a thin, handsome, self-assured young man, the reunion proves bittersweet. Although he reconnects with his loving sister Rosemary (Kerry Fox) and his Alzheimer's-afflicted grandmother Grace (Joan Orenstein), he is dismayed to learn that his parents' rocky marriage has settled into permanent animosity. He also witnesses the toll his absence has taken on his abusive, alcoholic father, Whiskey Mack (Peter MacNeill); his tight-lipped mother Iris (Seana McKenna); and Violet (Christine Dunsworth), the tomboyish younger sister he's never met. The past lingers in the very air of William's childhood home; disturbing visions of himself as both a waifish boy (Ian Parsons) and a fat adolescent (Troy Veinotte) follow him everywhere. And it's not just the ghosts who dredge up the past. Rosemary's new husband, Fletcher (Joel S. Keller), flirts shamelessly with William, bringing back memories of the painful relationship the two shared as teenagers. When Iris disappears, William must confront not only the haunting visions of his past, but also the unfinished business he left behind. The feature debut of writer/director Thom Fitzgerald, The Hanging Garden was the winner of the Air Canada People's Choice Award for best picture and the co-winner of the Toronto-CITY TV Award for Best Canadian Film at the Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi
- Directed By
- Thom Fitzgerald
- Written By
- Thom Fitzgerald
- Genres
- Drama
R,
- In Theaters
- May 15, 1998 Limited
- Studio
- Goldwyn Films
Critic Reviews
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Eric Henderson, Slant Magazine
It would be a lot easier to dismiss The Hanging Garden if its fetishized details weren't so naked and boldly autobiographical.
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Eric Henderson, Slant Magazine
Queer without being sexual, and quirky without being particularly congenial, The Hanging Garden is a game of "Truth or Dare" without ambition.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The ensemble acting is quite good
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Widgett Walls, Needcoffee.com
If you can clue into Fitzgerald's blend of surreality and reality in not just the same film, but the same frame, then you'll be just fine.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Chris Leavins
as Sweet William
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Kerry Fox
as Rosemary
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Seanna McKenna
as Iris
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Peter MacNeill
as Whiskey Mac
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Christine Dunsworth
as Violet
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Troy Veinotte
as Teen Sweet William
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Sarah Polley
as Teen Rosemary
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Joel S. Keller
as Fletcher
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Joan Orenstein
as Grace
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Jocelyn Cunningham
as Laurel
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Heather Rankin
as Black Eyed Susan
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Ashley Macisaac
as Basil
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Martha Irving
as Dusty Miller
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Renee Penney
as Grace the Nun
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Ian Parsons
as Little Sweet William
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Mark Austin
as Preacher
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Jim Faraday
as Mr. MacDougal
- Annabelle Dexter
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Tom Chambers
as Police Officer
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Michael Weir
as Police Officer
- Seana McKenna
