The Hanging Garden (1997)

Director:

Thom Fitzgerald

Writer:

Thom Fitzgerald (writer)

Release Date:

7 November 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

It's hard to go home... ten years after your death.

Plot:

William, a once obese and troubled teen, goes back to his family's home after being gone, without word...

Plot Keywords:

Wedding | Gay | Sex | Garden | Dancer

Awards:

20 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Ian Parsons	...	Little Sweet William
Peter MacNeill	...	Whiskey Mac
Troy Veinotte	...	Teen Sweet William
Kerry Fox	...	Rosemary
Mark Austin	...	Preacher
Joel S. Keller	...	Fletcher
Heather Rankin	...	Black-Eyed Susan
Christine Dunsworth	...	Violet
Seana McKenna	...	Iris
Joan Orenstein	...	Grace
Chris Leavins	...	Sweet William
Ashley MacIsaac	...	Basil--Fiddler
Jocelyn Cunningham	...	Laurel
Jim Faraday	...	Mr. MacDougal
Sarah Polley	...	Teen Rosemary
Renee Penney	...	Grace the Nun
Martha Irving	...	Dusty Miller
Annabelle Dexter	...	Bud (as Annabelle Raine Dexter)
Michael Weir	...	Police Officer
Tom Chambers	...	Police Officer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lucy Decoutere	...	Bridesmaid (uncredited)
Francine Deschepper	...	Bridesmaid (uncredited)
Thom Fitzgerald	...	Preacher (voice) (uncredited)
Jaime Robertson	...	Best Man (uncredited)

Directed by
Thom Fitzgerald

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Thom Fitzgerald		writer

Produced by
Gilles Bélanger	....	line producer
Thom Fitzgerald	....	producer
Louise Garfield	....	producer
Arnie Gelbart	....	producer
Mark Hammond	....	associate producer

Original Music by
John Roby

Cinematography by
Daniel Jobin		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Susan Shanks

Production Design by
Taavo Soodor

Art Direction by
Charlotte Harper

Set Decoration by
Darlene Shiels

Costume Design by
James A. Worthen

Makeup Department
Paulette Cable	....	key hair stylist
Rose Klatt	....	key makeup artist
Colleen Ryan	....	assistant hair stylist

Production Management
Ian Whitehead	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Barbara Badessi	....	second third assistant director
Shandi Mitchell	....	first assistant director (as Shandi Mitchell-Macleod)
Barry Nichols	....	second assistant director
Pierrette Pretty	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Marsha Cameron	....	set dresser
Gary Allen Ferguson	....	property master
Richard Fraser	....	construction manager
Randy Hardy	....	key scenic
Dylan MacDonald	....	assistant property master

Sound Department
Eric Apps	....	adr engineer
Richard Betanzos	....	supervising sound editor
Scott Donald	....	dialog editor
Philippe Espantoso	....	sound re-recording mixer
Steven Gurman	....	supervising sound editor
Georges Hannan	....	sound
Peter Harper	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Hubert	....	foley artist
Janice Ierulli	....	adr supervisor
Phil Reznick	....	sound editor
Cory Rizos	....	sound effects editor
Greg Shim	....	adr engineer
Glenn Tussman	....	supervising sound editor
André Vincelli	....	dialogue editor

Visual Effects by
François Aubry	....	visual effects

Stunts
Michel Leblanc	....	stunts chief rigger
Lawrence Willett	....	stunts effects rigger

Camera and Electrical Department
Dan Callis	....	still photographer
Reverend Bob Chiasson	....	grip (as Bob Chiasson)
Andrea Dorfman	....	second assistant camera
Darryl Duzak	....	electrician
Jacques Girard	....	gaffer (as Jacques 'Jackson' Girard)
Kevin MacNeil	....	key grip
Christopher Reardon	....	still photographer (as Chris Reardon)
Conrad Roy	....	best boy
Robert Zimmerman	....	assistant camera

Casting Department
Marsha Chesley	....	casting director: Toronto
John Dunsworth	....	casting director: Halifax

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jeanie Kimber	....	wardrobe buyer
Sian Morris Ross	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Claudine Blain	....	negative cutter
Vladimir Zabransky	....	color timer

Music Department
Richard Betanzos	....	music editor
Mike Jones	....	music engineer
Ron Proulx	....	music supervisor
Jane Siberry	....	musician

Transportation Department
Jack Niven	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Mark Austin	....	location manager
Jean Brien	....	production accountant
Danielle Depeyre	....	script supervisor
Derek Filiatrault	....	pre-production coordinator
John Frizzell	....	script consultant
André Lacroix	....	location assistant
Karla Morash	....	production coordinator
Michael Weller	....	script consultant

Production Companies

• Alliance Communications Corporation (present) (as Alliance Communications)
• Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC)
• Channel Four Films (present) (as Channel 4)
• Cineplex-Odeon Films
• Emotion Pictures (as A Tri ptych Media Galafilm/Emotion Pictures Production)
• Galafilm Productions (as A Tri ptych Media Galafilm/Emotion Pictures Production)
• Harold Greenberg Fund, The
• Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation
• Nova Scotia Film Industry Tax Credit
• Odeon Films
• Quebec Government
• Triptych Media (as A Tri ptych Media Galafilm/Emotion Pictures Production)
• Téléfilm Canada

Distributors

• Cineplex-Odeon Home Video (1997) (Canada) (VHS)
• Goldwyn Films (1998) (USA)
• Líder Films (Spain) (subtitled version)
• MFA Filmdistribution (Germany)
• Momentum Pictures (1997) (UK) (all media)
• Nomadic Pictures (Canada)
• Palace Films
• RCV Film Distribution (Belgium)
• RCV Film Distribution (Luxembourg)
• RCV Film Distribution (Netherlands)
• Universal Studios Home Video (1997) (Canada) (video)

Other Companies

• Arpix Media  music supervision

Also Known As:

Le jardin suspendu (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, language, and a scene of a hanging, and some teen drug use.

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

UK | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:MA | Finland:K-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada

Company:

Alliance Communications Corporation

Quotes:

Grace the Nun: Father, can you come and bless this Virgin
[statue]
Grace the Nun: for the lady, please?
Iris: No no, that's not necessary, please don't bother him ...
Grace the Nun: That's what he's here for, it's included! Father, are you ready to bless the Virgin or what?
[The priest comes up to the store counter and picks up the Virgin statuette.]
Grace the Nun: Oh hang on now, she hasn't got the receipt. How many times do I tell you, don't bless the Virgin until you get the receipt!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Weird Sex and Snowshoes: A Trek Through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche (2004) (TV)

A film to ponder on

This film is about a man coming back to his dysfunctional home after he left suddenly 10 years ago.

Right from the beginning, the family is already shown to be dysfunctional and unhappy. The initial wedding scene is unromantic, as it is clear that Rosemary did not want to marry. The grandmother has troubling dementia symptoms, and the father is alcoholic. It exposes a lot of sad and turbulent things that can happen: father's alcoholism, battered mother unable to stand up for herself, parents not being able to accept the son's sexuality, the haunting process of dementia and the destructive power of unresolved grief.

A powerful scene is when William challenges his mother why she has not left her husband. "How will I pay my bills" she says. It's a sad fact, but it is happening to a lot of people right now.

The longer I stayed watching "The Hanging Garden", the more fascinating it became. "The Hanging Garden" has an engaging and complicated plot which is open to interpretation. The ending is unexpected and powerful. It is a film to ponder on, not a film for a popcorn night.