The Sweet Hereafter Review
by Omar Odeh (helmut AT sprint DOT ca)March 7th, 1998
Commentary about The Sweet Hereafter has had as much to do with Atom Egoyan as it has had to do with the film itself. Egoyan's career trajectory has followed a trajectory, that is made explicit by his latest film, from; small budgets to larger ones, family centered cast to professional, specific- personal themes to universal-personal etc... This makes questions of changes in quality or level of his work particularly important. The general consensus seems to be that while the merits of the film are clear, the position to whcih Egoyan seems to be going is questionable. I disagree.
Interestingly, the style here seems reminiscent of Egoyan's earlier films. Next of Kin in particular comes to mind. The simpler associative techniques, for instance, like the repeated tilts and pans linking key characters and events in each film. At the same time there are set pieces that convincingly demonstrate a new level of technical mastery; the muted crash scene is the best example. This has come about, in all likelihood, because of the fact that the scale of The Sweet Hereafter dwarfs anything Egoyan has done to date. On this basis, the film marks a new phase for the director. If one accepts that this is the analog to Next of Kin, with respect to this second phase, imagine the analog to The Adjuster...
After Exotica, the ante was raised and Egoyan has answered by making a film on a fairly large scale, addressing complex themes, in a responsible and challenging manner. Thematically, the film exposes the inadequacies of one of soceity's most treasured symbolic languages: the law. Specifically, in the face of issues such as community and redistribution. Egoyan's critique is savage and embedded in an intricate flashback structure that remains extremely clear throughout the film. It would have been very easy for the strategy to end up muddled, especially since the source material (Russell Banks' novel of the same title) is said to be more linear.
Impatiently awaiting installment 2-1.
-Omar Odeh
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Theater/3920
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