The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
The Sweet Hereafter (1997), a Canadian drama, was written and directed by Atom Egoyan, based on the 1991 novel by Russell Banks. It takes place in the small town of Sam Dent, British Columbia, where tragedy strikes when a school bus skids on ice, breaks through a barrier, and crashes into a lake, claiming the lives of 14 children. A grief-stricken group of parents is approached by an out-of-town lawyer named Mitchell Stephens. He is troubled by his tumultuous relationship with his drug-addicted daughter. Despite their initial hesitance, Stephens convinces the parents and the bus driver, Dolores Driscoll, to join forces in filing a class-action lawsuit against the town and bus company. His argument claims that negligence in constructing either the barrier or the bus itself led to this heartbreaking accident.
The outcome of the case hinged on coaching the limited remaining witnesses to testify favorably in court, specifically Nicole Burnell, a 15-year-old who had become paralyzed following the accident. Prior to the incident, Nicole had dreams of pursuing a career in music. One of the grieving parents, Billy Ansel, had doubts about Stephens and pressured Sam to drop the case. Unfortunately, Nicole overheard their argument. During the pretrial deposition, she surprisingly accused the bus driver Dolores of exceeding the speed limit and this ultimately halted any further legal action. Despite Stephens and Sam’s certainty that this was a false accusation, they were powerless to do anything about it. Two years later, Stephens spotted Dolores working as a bus driver in another town.
Date of download: 2015-11-11T17:22:34+00:00
Cast:  Ian HolmMitchell Stevens  Sarah PolleyNicole Burnell  Tom McCamusSam Burnell  Gabrielle RoseDolores Driscoll  Alberta WatsonRisa  Maury ChaykinWendell  Bruce GreenwoodBilly  Arsinée KhanjianWanda  Stephanie MorgensternAllison |
The Sweet Hereafter (1997), a Canadian drama, was written and directed by Atom Egoyan, based on the 1991 novel by Russell Banks. It takes place in the small town of Sam Dent, British Columbia, where tragedy strikes when a school bus skids on ice, breaks through a barrier, and crashes into a lake, claiming the lives of 14 children. A grief-stricken group of parents is approached by an out-of-town lawyer named Mitchell Stephens. He is troubled by his tumultuous relationship with his drug-addicted daughter. Despite their initial hesitance, Stephens convinces the parents and the bus driver, Dolores Driscoll, to join forces in filing a class-action lawsuit against the town and bus company. His argument claims that negligence in constructing either the barrier or the bus itself led to this heartbreaking accident.
The outcome of the case hinged on coaching the limited remaining witnesses to testify favorably in court, specifically Nicole Burnell, a 15-year-old who had become paralyzed following the accident. Prior to the incident, Nicole had dreams of pursuing a career in music. One of the grieving parents, Billy Ansel, had doubts about Stephens and pressured Sam to drop the case. Unfortunately, Nicole overheard their argument. During the pretrial deposition, she surprisingly accused the bus driver Dolores of exceeding the speed limit and this ultimately halted any further legal action. Despite Stephens and Sam’s certainty that this was a false accusation, they were powerless to do anything about it. Two years later, Stephens spotted Dolores working as a bus driver in another town.
