 |
| DIRECTED BY |
| Atom Egoyan |
| STARRING |
| Ian Holm |
| Tom McCamus |
| Sarah Polley |
| Bruce Greenwood |
 |
Certainly one of the most emotionally complex films that I�ve ever had the pleasure/displeasure (both in a good way) of seeing, �The Sweet Hereafter� will initially have many viewers scratching their heads at its intricately confusing narrative structure, but it won�t take long for them to realize that Mr. Egoyan knows full well what he�s doing and, sure enough, it all comes together amazingly neatly in the end.
One should understand that the design of the narrative structure is deceptively complex because it�s actually quite simple. We see the film about Mitchell�s journey to find his daughter after his case at the town came to an end and we see the film about what exactly happened at that town before and after the tragedy. Among these two films, we�re treated to a number of beautifully shot flashbacks - the one detailing Mitchell�s experience with nearly losing his daughter to a spider bite being particularly memorable. Would �The Sweet Hereafter� be nearly as interesting as it is had it all flowed in a linear fashion? Not likely.
Egoyan�s true gift here is subtlety. Nothing is portrayed here in an obvious fashion � he is bold enough to simply let actions speak for themselves and to let us devise our own interpretations of those actions. For the most part, we don�t see characters expressing themselves through full-blown polemics here. Human suffering of the most profound kind is more commonly expressed in less obvious ways, and Egoyan understands this. And the fact that these actions are displayed through thoughtful direction that never seems invasive and a beautiful score makes this film all the more worthwhile. Paul Sarossy�s aerial cinematography, capturing vast areas of an ominous wintertime sky is also outstanding.
The film left me truly angry. One could mull over Nicole�s esoteric act of volition and �why she lied� for hours on end and not come up with any really convincing answers to justify what she did. Perhaps she had a good reason to destroy her father - the �Pied Piper� - but she did not have a good reason to destroy every other bereaved parent in that town as well. Anyhow, what really matters here is that I cared. Egoyan made me invest so much compassion and empathy into these characters that I couldn�t help but feel that way. The simple fact that �The Sweet Hereafter� managed to evoke such emotions within me qualifies it as a very special film indeed.
