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The Hanging Garden

Play trailer Poster for The Hanging Garden R 1997 1h 31m Drama LGBTQ+ Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
94% Tomatometer 16 Reviews 72% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Growing up as a gay teen in Nova Scotia was so hard for young William (Chris Leavins) that he ran away at the age of 15 and cut off nearly all contact with his dysfunctional family. With his sister (Kerry Fox) getting married, he returns home for the first time and is saddened to see that little has changed. The abusive nature of his family triggers old self-destructive tendencies in William as he starts to compulsively overeat to deal with the overwhelming pressure surrounding him.

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The Hanging Garden

Critics Reviews

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Eric Henderson Slant Magazine Jun 1, 2003
It would be a lot easier to dismiss The Hanging Garden if its fetishized details weren't so naked and boldly autobiographical. Go to Full Review
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Jan 1, 2000
3/4
The heart of the movie is its insight into the way families are haunted by their own history. Go to Full Review
Brian Mckay eFilmCritic.com Mar 11, 2006
5/5
Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com Oct 10, 2005
3/5
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Jul 24, 2005
3/5
TV Guide Jul 30, 2003
4/5
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Audience Reviews

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Robert P @Superbad 3 days ago the Hanging Garden = a *4* star Movie! See more Feb 17, 2020 I was shocked to see very high scored reviews on IMDb for this dirge. I'm being generous giving it 5/10. See more Apr 20, 2011 So-so dysfunctional gay drama... See more Jan 28, 2011 This one is from the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival list I have. Not a bad film just a little hard to understand, maybe someone who smoke's a bag of refer might understand it better. This movie was from the Perspective Canada portion of the film festival which I take to mean was filmed in Canada. A young man returns home to his sisters wedding after being gone for 10 years, and talk about a dysfunctional family, no matter how f up your family may be these guys will beat them hands down. The wedding seemed like something out of Alabama and not Nova Scotia, didn't know they had rednecks up there. Anyway no one warned me in any review but I will warn you, Gay Theme throughout. Overall hard for me to understand. 2 stars. See more Dec 8, 2010 A good film, if you can get past the "made for tv" feel. A very interesting concept that just doesnt feel like it was fully developed / executed. See more Dec 3, 2010 This is one dysfunctional family, and it's to writer/director Thom Fitzgerald's credit that "The Hanging Garden" manages to be as engaging as it is without become too annoying. There are moments that capture us, accompanied by others that just don't gel like they should. Overall, it's a decent effort marred by some overreaching. See more Read all reviews
The Hanging Garden

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis Growing up as a gay teen in Nova Scotia was so hard for young William (Chris Leavins) that he ran away at the age of 15 and cut off nearly all contact with his dysfunctional family. With his sister (Kerry Fox) getting married, he returns home for the first time and is saddened to see that little has changed. The abusive nature of his family triggers old self-destructive tendencies in William as he starts to compulsively overeat to deal with the overwhelming pressure surrounding him.
Director
Thom Fitzgerald
Producer
Thom Fitzgerald, Louise Garfield, Arnie Gelbart
Screenwriter
Thom Fitzgerald
Production Co
Emotion Pictures
Rating
R
Genre
Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 6, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$965.3K
Runtime
1h 31m
Sound Mix
Dolby
Aspect Ratio
35mm
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