16 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE DECEMBER 11, 1998
MOVIES
Dark comedy says, 'Hang on, your life will get better'
Cleveland-"I created [the film] to put out the message to unhappy people that no matter how much you hate your life and yourself in the current moment, it is possible to become the person you want to be, so hang in there," says writer, director and producer Thom Fitzgerald of The Hanging Garden, which opens December 11 at the Cedar-Lee Theatre. "You just have to hold on through the dark times."
Fitzgerald lived off his mother's credit
card during the six months it took to write his darkly comic tale of a gay man's reconciliation with himself and his estranged family.
The story revolves around Sweet William, who returns home to rural Nova Scotia for his sister's wedding. Ten years has gone by since William left as an overweight, unhappy, closeted teenager. Now he's slender, attractive and openly gay.
CHRIS REARDON, MGM
It doesn't take long for William to realize that his family is just as dysfunctional as ever, from his foul-mouthed, bride-to-be sister Rosemary to her betrothed, Fletcher, who flirts with William from the doorway of their honeymoon suite. William is surprised to find that he has a new little sister, Violet, who is as sullen as she is boyish. Rounding out the clan is William's senile grandmother Grace, his alcoholic father Mac and distant mother Iris, and the gassy, blind family dog.
Writer, director and producer Thom Fitzgerald
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Throughout the day, William is plagued by visions of his traumatic childhood. His mind
recalls his teenage years when he weighed 350 pounds. Because of his
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Fletcher, right, is one of the few bright spots in Sweet William's unhappy teenage life.
girth, he was reviled at school and beaten by his drunken father at home. When his grandmother caught him fondling the young Fletcher-his present day brother in law-tobe-all hell broke loose in the family. William's mother enlisted the help of a willing local woman in order to “straighten out" her son.
With all this upheaval swirling around him, a desperate and depressed William hanged himself from the limb of an apple tree in the garden. Back in the present, William relives the surreal events following his hanging. Appalled and inspired by the
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vision, William is finally able to take control of the past and his present.
While the subject matter may not appear to sing the praises of family, Fitzgerald sees the universal need to belong to a family as one of the film's main themes.
"Everybody needs à family," he says, "whatever family means to you personally. Even if your family is just a constant pain in the ass, you still need it."
Fitzgerald said he bestowed the character of Sweet William with the same kind of passivity he has.
"Things happen to him," Fitzgerald says of his character. "He doesn't do things, doesn't take control of his own life. He's got a deep-rooted fear of confrontation, like I have. Only when he lashes out as his family, do they come to any kind of understanding."
Seventeen-year-old rural Nova Scotian Troy Veinotte was cast to play Sweet William as a teenager. Veinotte said there's something "everyone can relate to in this movie," but admits that some of the scenes were difficult for him, especially the hanging scene where Veinotte had to dangle from a noose. The experience of playing a gay, overweight character that is abused by his father, teased by his sister, seduced and rejected by a male friend and then forced to have sex with a woman, made Veinotte appreciate Sweet William's story.
"It's reality and that's why it's good," Veinotte says of his first film.
Joel Keller plays the roguish, free-spirited Fletcher with enthusiasm, but admits he found the "gay issue" somewhat of a challenge.
"It's something I found difficult at first" Keller said, "I'm not homophobic, but that doesn't mean I kiss guys."
But the 29-year old Fitzgerald, whose latest short, Canada Uncut, was recently screened at the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, makes no apologies for his film's gay sensibilities.
"I don't often think of myself as a gay man, never mind a gay filmmaker," Fitzgerald said. "But I am grateful for being queer. Too often straight people, or any people in the majority, aren't provoked to examine life fully. When you are the one ostracized, you get a different perspective on the absurdities, injustices and humor of our society. That perspective is a gift I cherish."
Some of Canada's most acclaimed musicians, and others familiar to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender music fans collaborated to produce the soundtrack to The Hanging Garden. Celtic music, with its roots in history, was chosen to enhance the story of family, home and a sense of belonging. Among those appearing on the soundtrack are world-renowned fiddler Ashley MacIsaac, Jane Siberry, Holly Cole, and bisexual folk rocker Ani DiFranco. The Hanging Garden can be seen beginning Friday, December 11 at the Cedar-Lee Theatre, 2163 Lee Rd., Cleveland Heights.
Compiled by Doreen Cudnik from publicity materials.