Absolutely Fantastic

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Think Twin Peaks if you took away the surrealism and upped the super-tragic factor: it's not one young person but over 20 dead who die in a horrible bus accident on an icy road and leave a whole town scarred, with one man coming in to try and figure out what happened. Only in this case it's not the FBI, it's a lawyer, trying to file suit against the town for more damages as compensation for the parents. Considering the many characters and the various ways they feel throughout the film, an alternate title for the film could be called The Bitter Simmering Grief.This is one of those rare films where one scene, and a choice of a narration-device, mars for me what is otherwise an excellent drama, and generally one of the better films of 1997 (a year with many great films). But before I get to that, some praise for Ian Holm. My God is he phenomenal in this movie. He has to do, as this character of Mitchell Stevens, appealing to the anger and grief of these victims and channel that anger (more than the grief, if he can help it) to go along with him in the suit. At the same time this character is dealing with his daughter, addicted to drugs and spiraling out of control, and it's always in phone calls where he can barely speak to her in a rational way.One of the scenes that can shake you up as you watch this film involves Holm talking to his daughter on the phone (this after a nasty encounter with one of the locals, played by Bruce Greenwood, who doesn't want him in the town), and he finds out from her that she's HIV positive. This relies in part on a monologue he gives to an old friend of hers he meets on a plane as he tells a story involving when his daughter was near death from a spider bite in her throat and having to come close to doing what he had to for her. Just seeing him speaking this, and then this in mind as he finds out this news, the way that Egoyan shoots that scene with the wide shots of her on the phone at a booth, the close-ups on him, then in to her, with brief flashes to her as a baby... it's a gut-punch. And Holm sells it, every single second. It's a cliché to call something a powerhouse in a performance, but that's what he's giving here, and often in very subtle ways, sometimes with just a look or how he's listening to people, or subtly appealing to characters' emotions.Sarah Polly is also really terrific too as the teenager who was one of the only survivors (along with the driver) on the bus. My problem with the film doesn't come with her, but with a certain story choice that is made about a third to maybe mid-way through the film - it's difficult to spoil it, but it involves a scene that seems to me just dropped right into the thick of things, and it doesn't have very much lead up for these characters. While it does ultimately pay off in the climax of the story, it is still a jarring move; even at 112 minutes long, I wish the film had been longer to develop these characters and this conflict that is clearly there. It's meant to be accentuated by the narration of the Pied Piper, which Polly's character is reading to the children and then comes back up from time to time. It's too on-the-nose dramatically speaking, especially for a film that is loaded with enough drama and tragedy as it is.And yet I can't recommend the film enough, despite my caveats on a first viewing. The Sweet Hereafter, beautifully shot in snow-covered Canada, is meant to look on into that terrible moment when tragedy rocks not just one family but a whole town - and yet these people, individually, have to deal with the pains of losing their children in their own ways, with Stevens most of all as his daughter is dying, yet so far away from him, and yet there's also Greenwood's character, who is gruff and mustached and full of the sort of pain that he will keep inside of himself for the rest of his life. It's a near-masterpiece.

The Sweet Hereafter (1997): Dir: Atom Egoyen / Cast: Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Bruce Greenwood, Tom McCamus, Maury Chaykin: Terrific film about the promise of a better tomorrow. A community loses children in a tragic bus accident and Ian Holm plays a lawyer who arrives to represent the town in a lawsuit. Contact with his daughter brings memories of a time when she nearly died. Director Atom Egoyen who previously made Exotica employs symbolic images using the Pied Piper story. Holm is flawless as a lawyer bent on covering up his mistakes by solving others. His presence is not welcome amongst town folks, and his daughter calling only brings grief and regret. Great supporting work by Sarah Polley as a wheelchair victim whom Holm is trying to convince to assist in the lawsuit. She was seated at the front of the bus and as a result she became paralyzed from the waist down. Bruce Greenwood plays a father who witnessed the tragedy, and Tom McCamus plays Polley's father who molested her when she was young. Maury Chaykin provides great comic relief during a scene where he explains and basically points fingers in blunt fashion. Many of these people wish to continue onward as oppose to indulge in a lawsuit that can only result in more pain. Emotional film about dealing with loss and protecting children from the reality of fate. Score: 10 / 10

The Sweet Hereafter is 1997 Canadian drama movie based on a novel by Russell Banks of the same name. The screen play is written and directed by critically acclaimed director Atom Egoyon . The Film stars Ian Holm, Sarah Polly, Bruce Greenwood, AlbertaWatson, Simon Baker, Marc Donato, Broke Johnson, Maury Chaykin, Stephanie Morgenstern, Carthain Banks, Tom MeCamus, Russell Banks (cameo) and Gabrielle Rose. The Sweet Hereafter tells the story of a horrible school bus crashing accident that killed numerous local children. Their shattered and grieving parents are approached by a lawyer Mitchell Stevens (Ian Holm) who is hunted by the problems of his own, he wants them to file a class action lawsuit to sue for the damages by claiming the bus was faulty. Some of the parents at first are unwilling but they are persuaded by Mitchel Stevens that suing for damages is the right thing to do, some parents shows interest only because of the big settlement and some parents just want justice to be done.As most of the children are dead the case mainly depends only on 3 people that witnessed the accident, the bus driver Dolores Driscoll (Gabrielle Rose), Nicole Burnell (Sarah Polly) who was sitting at the front of the bus and who is now paralyzed below the waist because of the bus crashing accident and Billy (Bruce Greenwood) who was following the bus. Dolores Driscoll is willing to help to prove it wasn't her fault, Nicole Burnell is reluctant at first but agrees to help only on a condition that she wouldn't lie but Billy who lost 2 kids in the accident is against the lawsuit and tries to convince other parents to drop the lawsuit but nobody listens to him and tells him to stay out of it. In the pretrial deposition, Nicole Burnell lies and accuses the bus driver Dolores Driscoll of over speeding and thus causing the accident. After doing so all the hopes of suing the bus company with the possibility of big settlement disappears. The intention behind Nicole's lie is to punish her father who was sexually abusing her before the crash. Everybody that suffered from the accident or those who are involved in the case knows that Nicole is lying but nothing can be done and the trial never takes place.The story of the movie unfolds in non chronological order it jumps back and forth from one plot to another many times and loses the momentum. At first it was OK but after a while it was hard to watch because it never focused on the main story. In start we are introduced to several characters and each character has a story of its own. There are many different events besides the crash, which distracts the attention from the main plot. Mitchell Stevens daughter Zoe is a drug addict and she hates her father but its never explained what she hates him for also by the end of the movie Zoe tests positive for a blood test and its not explained what the test was for aids, pregnancy or something else. Also Zoe at first is shown as a homeless druggie but by the end she is well dressed. Billy has an affair with Risa (Alberta Watson) who is married to Windol (Maury Chaykin) but its never told why Risa is cheating on Windol or why can't she just leave him if she doesn't love him. Billy has also lost 2 kids in the accident but he is against the lawsuit because he knows it was just an accident and according to him it's wrong to sue for the damages but isn't it wrong to have an affair with a married woman? In the start of the movie its shown that Nicole loves her father (Sam MeCamus) and that they have a nice father daughter relationship but halfway its shown that Nicole is sexually abused by her father and by the end of the movie its shown that she hates him and therefor in order to punish him she lies and accuses an innocent person for the bus crash. Dolores Driscoll is held responsible for the accident because of over speeding but at the end of the movie she is back to driving some kind of airport passenger bus, how can she be hired just after two years for driving again when she is held responsible for the bus crash. Even the movie poster is taken from a scene that has nothing to do with the main plot of the movie.Ian Holm as Mitchel Stevens is a bit over dramatic at times but overall he plays the character nicely. Sarah Polly as Nicole Burnell does justice to her character and changes her facial expressions from a sweet to a serious bitter teen. Bruce Greenwood as Billy is convening, apart from Ion Holm, Sarah Polly and Bruce Greenwood all other actors are flat and plain and no one seems to be convincing enough in their respective characters.Atom Egoyon screenplay is too weak and confusing, he fails in directing The Sweet hereafter, he doesn't uses the right tone and right timing to introduce the characters and unfolds the story in non chronological order which only confuses the audience with all those subplots, The only good thing about his directing is choosing the beautiful locations for shoot. Cinematography is beautifully done by Paul Sarossy.Almost all of the main characters have a story, which is never explained, their personal stories are never given the depth they needed. I hardly see any place for those untold personal stories in the movie but they are introduced which drags the attention from the main plot and half way through the movie I didn't care for the accident and just wanted the movie to finish.

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die is the book I found out about this film, it sounded like and I confirmed it as an independent film, the title obviously had some association with death, but I didn't know anything about the plot, so it would be interesting for me to try whatever. Basically a small town has been devastated by a tragic event; a school bus driven by Dolores Driscoll (Gabrielle Rose) and loaded with most of the children of the town attending the local school was driving during the snowy winter morning, when it suddenly hit an icy patch, it skids off road down the hill until it reaches the lake an crashes through the ice and sinks, drowning most victims inside. Many of the isolated village community members are mourning the deaths of their children, including Billy (Bruce Greenwood), the Walkers who lost their mentally developed and challenged son Sean (Devon Finn), and the Ottos who lost their aboriginal son Bear (Simon Baker) who was adopted. Some did survive the accident, including now wheelchair bound aspiring songstress Nicole Burnell (Sarah Polley), and Dolores, we see the accident in flashbacks while lawyer Mitchell Stevens (Sir Ian Holm) has arrived in the Canadian town wanting to take some slight advantage of the situation and get the parents of the twenty dead children to sue whatever party may be guilty for causing the incident, he will obviously represent those who agree to it. He plans to target the big companies and organisations with big amounts of money and who have some involvement with the school, most of the parents he see accept his proposal and see it as some way to get over the grieving, others are simply interested in the potential for the money, and some like Billy want nothing to do with a lawsuit. Stevens himself has demons as he suffered the death of his son and still feels grief, so he knows how the victims feel, but his son's death has also resulted in his daughter Zoe (Caerthan Banks) turning to drugs, losing respect for her father and any real relationship with him, and he knows life in the town has never been the same since this terrible event. Also starring Tom McCamus as Sam Burnell, Arsinée Khanjian as Wanda Otto, Alberta Watson as Risa Walker, Mousehunt's Maury Chaykin as Wendell Walker, Brooke Johnson as Mary Burnell, David Hemblen as Abbott Driscoll and Peter Donaldson as Schwartz. Holm gives a pretty good glum performance as the ambulance-chasing who is trying to earn but also help those in the same grief-stricken situation he is in, Greenwood gets a reasonably good amount of time on screen, and I agree that from what I remember Polley is exceptional as the survivor paralysed by the accident. I will confess that I drifted in some of the story, particularly the parts involving a lawsuit and what have you, but it was certainly interesting to see a story about how one truly tragic incident can change the dynamics and personalities of a whole town community, it has got the right amount of intensity and atmosphere to keep you watching, a worthwhile psychological drama. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Director for Atom Egoyan (Felicia's Journey) and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published. Very good!