Review of The Sweet Hereafter (1997) by Olaolu A — 30 Jun 2011

Probably up there with L.A. Confidential amongst the best films of 1997; a stirring, forceful drama that relates the story of a great tragedy and attains its considerable emotional impact without ever once resorting to cheap sentiment, needless sensationalism or other such sledgehammer techniques.

And considering some of the subject matter that is broached here, that is an amazing feat in and of itself. The plot reads like one of those throwaway stories about lawyers that one would expect from someone like John Grisham but thankfully writer/director Atom Egoyan (adapting from the Russell Banks novel of the same name) avoids the quick and easy fixes and always treats his characters and their situations with respect.

And he does it all with a sense of artistry that is breathtaking. Few will argue that this is a happy movie - in fact, one could argue that some of the points Egoyan are is trying to prove here are rather cynical - but for me at least, because of the level of skill that went into making this film - especially, the superlative acting jobs from everyone in the cast and the beautiful cinematography - the natural sadness of the material ultimately gives way to exhilaration.

Don't get me wrong - it's not that the difficult circumstances that the characters have to deal with in this film don't affect me at all. Rather, I'm merely illustrating that this is the sort of film where the magnificent whole is more than the sum of it's individual parts.

Not only is the film a visual feast (there's a reason why I mentioned the cinematography, credited to Paul Sarossy, in this review; the small town in British Columbia, where most of the action takes place in the movie, is consistently filmed in the most breathtaking way possible) but it challenges both the intellect as well as the emotions.

In short, for anyone who is a fan of this sort of powerful drama, The Sweet Hereafter offers the complete package.