Rating: 
Summary: Incredibly Underrated
Review: I caught this flick late at night on the Sundance Channel and was incredibly moved by its story. I had never known that such movies existed, and am glad that I was fortunate to see this one. It's not for everyone, but those who enjoy social commentary and a good story should apply immediately.
Rating: 
Summary: Best film of 1997
Review: I cry every time I see this film.Fitzgerald gets so much right, that the loose, seemingly chaotic structure somehow makes some bizarre sense. Having grown up with weight issues and a catho-holic [sic(k)] upbringing, I identified with Sweet William and the other characters. This is a very emotional and poetic film, and will appeal to the romantic and the idealist both, provided he or she is willing to go along with a chubby, gay lead. In thinking about the story and structure afterwards, I realized that there are so many possible ways to interpret this film. Personally I like that about a movie. I myself think that the "protagonist" (if there is one), isn't Sweet William but the entire family, in the same vein as "To Sleep with Anger" by Charles Burnett. While some of the revelations of the film are doozies, I feel that Sweet William's changes take place before the film begins.
Rating:
Summary: Long time waiting for a thoughtful movie
Review: I first saw this movie at the Wellington Out Takes Festival back in '98, and have been waiting for release to video ever since. Thought provoking stuff. None of our group came up with the same idea as to the plot, so in that respect it worked for us all. Toledo reviewer did a good job summarising the plot, so I won't reprise. Suffice to say it is worth the effort.
Rating:
Summary: sun movie
Review: I like the movie. The store is vear good
Rating:
Summary: Quite unique
Review: I liked this film a lot - it made me cry. Now, I'll let youin on a little secret----the film is about a homosexual guy who returns home after running away from his family over 10 years earlier. When he left he was a huge (as in obease) teenager, struggling with being homosexual, and having tried to kill himself. He returns a svealt, kind of happy adult and takes a rather painful trip down memory lane. The secret is, I probably liked it because I used to be a 350 pound homosexual teenager---and I'm not anymore......but you always remember. So I warn you ahead of time, I might be somewhat personally jaded. Personal experience aside, the film should work for just about everyone-----it has an uncanny ability to hone in on your emotions. They are all there--fear, loathing, confusion, sadness, acceptance. All as seen through one man who now sees just how unhappy and miserable all the people he left behind really always were. It's definatly a film wirht having--you will watch it atleast 3 or four times and always find it entertaining.
Rating: 
Summary: Boringggggggggggggg.
Review: I really tried watching this 3 times. Each time I could not finish. I found it so boringggg! It dragged on and really never seemed to keep my interest.
Rating:
Summary: Viscerally stunning
Review: I saw this at the Seattle Int'l Film Festival a couple of years ago. I sat motionless throughout the movie and was unable to speak for quite a while afterwards. Never in my life have I been numbed by a movie in this manner. Watching it was like watching the single most difficult events of my life story unfold before me. I cannot remember the last time a movie produced such a complete and visceral response from me. The weaving of the past and present were wonderful, as you can never be 100% sure which is the true reality. The past and present events conflict just enough that you know only one of them really happened, but which one? If you believe the past is correct, then this is a movie of how one family can come to terms with an event of 10 years ago that still haunts them all. If you believe the present, then it's a stunning portrayal of one man's coming to terms and overcoming his past traumas. Either way, it is visually stunning, and very lyrical, which is quite amazing when you consider the deep seeded psychological damage these people have put each other through. I can't even put all my thoughts into words, that is how deeply affected I was by this movie. Also, it was a Canadian movie, which is great, since, without that Hollywood nonsense of "we have to have a happy ending" the story was free to be slightly ambiguous and tell the truth, without having to make the viewer feel good upon leaving the theatre. Canadian film is on the rise, and there are a lot of great young directors. This guy is gonna be among the best of them soon!
Rating:
Summary: A step beyond quirky.
Review: I saw this film nearly a year and a half ago, and have been trying to obtain a video copy since. The story of Sweet William has an unusual and lingering appeal; it is not easily forgotten. While the film has certainly earned itself a place in the annals of quirky Canadian film history, its success abroad and and resonance in the minds of viewers creates an aura of mystery as alluring as the plot itself. It's a pity the distributor has chosen not to release The Hanging Garden for video sale. This small Nova Scotian production deserves a chance to see its mystery spread and number of enchanted viewers grow.
Rating:
Summary: So thought provoking it hurts.
Review: I watched this video twice before I could even begin to form an opinion. The movie is so complex, full of many ideas and images that I wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't. Even now, I have several ideas of what I watched. Never has a ghost story been so thought provoking. Having grown up in rural NS myself, the realistic portrayal of the people, circumstances, and area was beautiful.
Rating:
Summary: An overgrown garden
Review: Like many things Canadian, this film takes a bit of getting used to. At first glance, it seemed confusing and too understated and I was on the verge of writing off the whole Canadian film industry as a load of bunkum, when I gave myself and the film a second chance. And I'm glad I did. 'The Hanging Garden' is in many ways, 'American Beauty' taken up north. There's family dysfunction galore, (...)repressed and rescued, symbolism around every corner and yes, the flowers. But whereas Sam Mendes' opus concentrates on the symbolism of the rose, Canadian Thom Fitzgerald throws a whole garden at us. Sweet Williams, Black-Eyed Susans, Violets, Laurels and even an Iris, the image of garden as family and flower as individual is brilliantly done here. And whereas Mendes focused on satirizing the surface of things, Fitzgerald has gone deep into some pretty dark territory. Sweet William returns 'home' after a ten-year exile from his family and painful childhood. He arrives on the day his beloved sis, Rosemary, is to be married. Nothing out of the ordinary, just Sweet Willy's a little late. And for a reason. This Sweet William is a much different person than the one who escaped ten years ago. As the story unfolds, the weeds of the family's past begin to poke up through the dirt. William returns to an alcoholic father, Whiskey Mac, who has succeeded in alienating just about everybody with his tyrannical selfishness. In fact, on the night of his return, William helps him to bed and then has a heart to heart chat with his mother, Iris. Iris blames her children and her abusive husband for keeping her in bondage, when in fact, her own exaggerated sense of duty has kept her locked up all along. She suddenly elopes from the house and sets the family upside down as to why she has disappeared. As the search for answers continues, William sees the ghosts of his former unhappy self, an obese, self-loathing teen who can't come to terms with his own homosexuality, glide through the house and garden. William retraces the steps of his sorrowful childhood, from his first (...)experience (with the boy who would later become his sister's husband!) to the final climax of his self-hatred. William must confront the person he tried to kill ten years ago in the garden. Who was he? Why was he pushed to such an act? And how can he move on? But his journey to freedom means facing some unpleasant truths from the past and present, not all entirely of his own making. Caught in flagrante delicto with a boy by his near-senile, Virgin-hugging Catholic granny, William is sent to the local prostitute. Sent by his mother no less! And ten years later, William learns that the foul-mouthed tom-boy brat at his sister's wedding is actually the fruit of that most unpleasant union. Moreover, his sister's groom, Fletcher, Willy's first love whose rejection led to the near-fatal suicide attempt, now desires the new, sexy William more than ever! The film is convoluted, contrived and utterly confusing as plausibilty is stretched to the limits. It would be hard to find such mother as Iris, or a husband-to-be like Fletcher, but somehow, the film makes you believe it all could have happened. And that's the whole point. Whatever really happened in the past is never as clear as we would like it to be. Lines cross, colors bleed and images blur. At first, the acting struck me as too low-key, but after two more viewings, the subtle performances of Chris Leavin (William), Peter Mc Neill (Whiskey Mac), and Seanna Mc Kanna (Iris), more than made up for the lack of big names involved. Also, the backdrop of Celtic music combined with exquisite camera work (close-ups of flowers and faces!) made the film a treat to watch. Despite some pernicious weeds, 'The Hanging Garden' makes its case. In order for us to free ourselves from our past, we need to confront it and then bury it deep, for under every flower bed lies a whole lot of manure.
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