
William, a once obese and troubled teen, goes back to his family's home after being gone, without word, for ten years and finds it (and his family) haunted with his past. He had moved to the city and become a fit, well-adjusted gay man, but during his visit home, he becomes unhinged as the newly remembered reasons for his miserable adolescence come to life in each of their presents.... (Full plot summary below)
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William, a once obese and troubled teen, goes back to his family's home after being gone, without word, for ten years and finds it (and his family) haunted with his past. He had moved to the city and become a fit, well-adjusted gay man, but during his visit home, he becomes unhinged as the newly remembered reasons for his miserable adolescence come to life in each of their presents.
Leave your thoughts about The Hanging Garden.
| Internet ReviewsSteve RhodesThe director touches your heart without ever letting the story dissolve into anything approaching a tearjerker. |
| Slant MagazineEric HendersonIt would be a lot easier to dismiss The Hanging Garden if its fetishized details weren't so naked and boldly autobiographical. |
| Film Journal InternationalMaria GarciaWhat makes The Hanging Garden so unusual is Fitzgerald's classic approach to a portrayal of family life. |
| User ReviewJorge FA really good movie and a strange one too. With its serious content, Fitzgerald sets big emotions aside and doesn't deliver all the solutions. The audience has to do some reflecting too. I'm sure a lot has been said about the metaphor so there's no need for me to spoil it and give away more here. Just watch it. |
| User ReviewUros TFascinating examination of dysfunctional family and one of the most miserable weddings I've ever seen on film! |
| User ReviewPrivate Udid he really hang himself? Was he a gost? What was going on? This movie was weird. But it made you think, and rethink. |
| User ReviewJennifer COk this is another film that has made me choke up in tears while watching it! |
| User ReviewZac RAmazing combination of creepiness and bagpipes. |
| User ReviewJesse BShows how sometimes we have to get away from family just be ourselves. Being gay is hard enough without parents making your life a living hell. |
| User ReviewTony UWhat a surprise. After watching a classic Hitchcock movie prior, I opted to stay awake at 11pm (pass my bedtime) just to "give a quick watch" of this movie so that I'd be drowsy and fall asleep. It is now 1:15am and I am awake and turned my computer on to write a review on this surprisingly amazing movie. I have no idea how I got a hold of this. I rec'd it in Nexflix, perhaps a recommendation from one of my cinema friends. The story immediately gripped me with the cinematography of combining in a single scene duality of a person's past and present. It was an usual style but highly original and highly effective. The blunt dialogue is at times funny, disturbing, and thought provoking. The stories within the stories was powerful as well such as how we are introduced to the main character's "young sister" who at the end winds up being his daughter. The acting of all the characters was powerful. Sweet William is amazingly pragmatic and very convincing as a man pragmatically dealing with and trying to understand the demons of the broken down family that he is a part of. The chemistry between his closeness between him and his sister and him and his grandmother is beautiful. The grandma's traditional catholic ideals adds an amazing blend of humor. Her acting flawless as a woman who has altzheimer. His drunk father plays a powerful role. We feel his character as a drunk idealist whose heart is all but dead. His mom was powerful as a woman who has Thom Fitzgerald's writing of dialogue is one I will be attentive for and hope to see more of. The music and overall cinematic style is minimalist and with natural lighting. This is a moving film that has numerous memorable moments, some funny, some insane, and many thought provoking on many levels. I like how the stories unravel themselves out sometimes being obviously predictable and others totally catching one by surprise. An A+ movie. The best movie I have scene in awhile. |