Writer/director Paul Schrader, the mind behind ‘Taxi Driver’, ‘Raging Bull’ and ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’, has explored the darker parts of the human psyche longer than most young moviegoers, honing his skills and interests before releasing arguably his three most compelling directorial works to date: 2017’s “First Reformed”, last year’s “The Card Counter” and finally “Master Gardener”. All three ping pong between explorations of the most explosive political issues of our time, from climate change to the so-called War on Terror to the more recent and virulent strain of white supremacy that is prevalent in too much of modern society today. And like anyone who has had the misfortune to take a look at Schrader’s Facebook page knows, perhaps few others are as equipped as he is to tackle these issues.
“Master Gardener”, however, marks a dramatic departure from the typical average Schrader sequence. The film follows expert horticulturist Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton, who is at the absolute top of his game here), a mysterious blank slate of an individual whose rigid bearing, revealing haircut and fashion sense, and perhaps an overcompensated devotion to something as peaceful as plants all betray a far more ominous past. But as we delve deeper into her little circle, starting with Sigourney Weaver’s wealthy landowner, Norma Haverhill, and her estranged great-niece Maya (Quintessa Swindell, showing off incredible acting skills that she doesn’t ever had the chance to relent in “Black Adam”), the secrets of everyone’s past threaten to come to light. At the end of it all, meanwhile, is a tantalizing glimpse of redemption.
The answers provided by Schrader’s latest will no doubt provoke and alienate but, as always, this filmmaker is far more interested in questions.
“Master Gardener” is currently playing in theaters.