It's a Canadian community tragedy drama focused on a December 1995 school bus accident in a small British Columbia town. Fourteen children are killed. Mitchell Stephens (Ian Holm), a personal injury lawyer from the big city, comes to town to find clients for a lawsuit against the town and the bus manufacturer. Mitchell has tragedy in his own life, focused on his drug-addicted daughter, Zoe (Caerthan Banks).
The film acquaints us with several families in the town just before the accident. They include Risa Walker (Alberta Watson) and her husband, Wendell (Maury Chaykin), who run the local motel, and Dolores Driscoll (Gabrielle Rose), the bus driver, and her husband, Abbott (David Hemblen). There are also Sam Burnell (Tom McCamus) and wife, Mary (Brooke Johnson), and their musically gifted 15-year-old daughter, Nicole (Sarah Polley), and a "hippie" couple, Hartley Otto (Earl Pastko) and Wanda (Arinée Khanjian) and their adopted First Nations son, Bear (Simon R. Baker). And Billy Ansel (Bruce Greenwood) runs the local garage and maintains the bus.
The movie explores the town's troubled lives and Mitchell's initial success finding clients for a class-action negligence suit. Nicole, who survives the accident but is paralyzed from the waist down, is a crucial witness as Mitchell begins to depose potential witnesses. Some dramatic testimony suddenly ends the film.
"The Sweet Hereafter" is somber and complex. The town's secrets are creatively unfolded. Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, and Gabrielle Rose are outstanding. Bruce Greenwood's character seems to change personality after the accident. The other characters are strong. The Mitchell-Zoe parallel story detracts from the main event, especially in Mitchell's lengthy conversation with Allison (Stephanie Morgenstern) on an airplane in 1997. The British Columbia scenery is spectacular.
The film acquaints us with several families in the town just before the accident. They include Risa Walker (Alberta Watson) and her husband, Wendell (Maury Chaykin), who run the local motel, and Dolores Driscoll (Gabrielle Rose), the bus driver, and her husband, Abbott (David Hemblen). There are also Sam Burnell (Tom McCamus) and wife, Mary (Brooke Johnson), and their musically gifted 15-year-old daughter, Nicole (Sarah Polley), and a "hippie" couple, Hartley Otto (Earl Pastko) and Wanda (Arinée Khanjian) and their adopted First Nations son, Bear (Simon R. Baker). And Billy Ansel (Bruce Greenwood) runs the local garage and maintains the bus.
The movie explores the town's troubled lives and Mitchell's initial success finding clients for a class-action negligence suit. Nicole, who survives the accident but is paralyzed from the waist down, is a crucial witness as Mitchell begins to depose potential witnesses. Some dramatic testimony suddenly ends the film.
"The Sweet Hereafter" is somber and complex. The town's secrets are creatively unfolded. Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, and Gabrielle Rose are outstanding. Bruce Greenwood's character seems to change personality after the accident. The other characters are strong. The Mitchell-Zoe parallel story detracts from the main event, especially in Mitchell's lengthy conversation with Allison (Stephanie Morgenstern) on an airplane in 1997. The British Columbia scenery is spectacular.