"Master Gardener" review — Schrader digs into the weeds of human life
“Gardening is a belief in the future. A belief that things will happen according to plan”
Narvel Roth is a simple gardener. He works as the head gardener of the private Gracewood Gardens. Every night, he journals, detailing his thoughts about his surroundings and, most importantly, what he observes about the art of gardening and plants. He’s a quiet, simple man. Or, at least, that’s what he wants you to believe. When you spend time with Narvel, you begin to notice that he’ll only ever wear long-sleeve shirts, never even daring to roll up his sleeves. He hardly ever talks about himself, although shows a great deal of kindness and care towards his colleagues and the plants of the estate.
What sort of a name is Narvel, anyway?
Master Gardener is the latest film from writer-director Paul Schrader, the writer behind Taxi Driver (1976) and Raging Bull (1980) and the director of Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985) and First Reformed (2018). The film follows Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton), a gardener in the employ of Norma Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver). One day, Norma tells Narvel that her grand-niece, Maya (Quintessa Swindell), will be coming to work at Gracewood Gardens and that Narvel is to serve as her mentor. As their relationship develops, Narvel and Maya reveal more about each other as they dig into their complex, heartbreaking trauma and past abuse. Master Gardener is a difficult film to love, although it is certainly thought-provoking. Schrader digs into themes of love, forgiveness, and renewal, which are all quite compelling, but the narrative itself hampers any real, meaningful exploration of those themes. Limited by its small scope, Master Gardener won’t give you many answers but just presents new problems.
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| Quintessa Swindell and Joel Edgerton in Master Gardener. Photo: Magnolia. |
As many other critics have noted, Master Gardener makes for Schrader’s third entry in his “Man in a Room” trilogy, following his two other most recent films — the aforementioned First Reformed and The Card Counter (2021). These films deal with solitary male protagonists with deep-seated regrets and trauma that they keep beneath a cool, calm exterior. Like the previous two, Master Gardener is about more than just trauma and repressed masculine aggression. Instead, Schrader is continuing to wrestle with some of the biggest social ills that plague the contemporary world in small-scale, intimate environments. In First Reformed, Schrader focuses on climate change and the existential dread accompanying it. In The Card Counter, he takes on American Imperialism in the 21st century, making his protagonist a former guard at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison. Here, Schrader tells the story of a reformed neo-Nazi trying to find internal and external forgiveness.
When Narvel first removes his long-sleeved shirt, we are greeted by an image of a body covered in scars of a past life in the form of tattoos. Phrases like “white power” cover Narvel’s back next to two swastikas. He has a Confederate flag on his arm. But all of that is from a time long ago. Narvel is a changed man. Do Proud Boys deserve love? Does a white supremacist deserve a chance at forgiveness? All of this is very rich emotional and thematic territory to be working in. Joel Edgerton plays the emotional core of the film quite well and is a wonderful addition to the legacy sketched out by Ethan Hawke and Oscar Isaac in First Reformed and The Card Counter respectively. Edgerton’s performance is reserved and subtle, finding intensity and heartbreak in little moments and making you feel more deeply about plants than you ever thought possible.
What makes Master Gardener so distinct from First Reformed and The Card Counter is that it isn’t just a man in a room — Narvel’s personal and intimate relationships with Maya and Norma are also front and centre here. While Sigourney Weaver is excellent as the wealthy Nora, it is Quintessa Swindell who steals the show as Maya. Swindell adds so much depth and nuance to the character, serving as an excellent companion and foil to Edgerton’s Narvel. Weaver is also a brilliant addition to the drama. Her Norma is a frightening, difficult woman. The strange triangle that the three leads make is one riddled with uncomfortable and difficult dynamics. None of them are particularly easy characters to like, each with their own assortment of baggage and problematic behaviours, but they are certainly fascinating.
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| Joel Edgerton and Sigourney Weaver in Master Gardener. Photo: Magnolia. |
What also makes this film so distinct from its predecessors is that Schrader offers the viewer a glimmer of hope through the narrative. Schrader has made noise in recent years by making himself a part of the “anti-woke” crowd. But Schrader’s actual art reflects an empathy that his public persona seemingly ignores. Schrader’s film is complicated and layered, offering more than simple sociopolitical messages. He is interested in empathy and understanding above all, empathy with a deeply hopeful thread. Hopefulness is a very substantial part of this movie. While both Narvel and Maya have a great deal of personal past trauma that they’re slowly working through, the film gives them a light at the end of the tunnel to pursue — even if that light is still a long way off. Narvel isn’t looking to atone for his past sins but to make something new.
What also makes this film so distinct from its predecessors is that Schrader offers the viewer a glimmer of hope through the narrative. Schrader has made noise in recent years by making himself a part of the “anti-woke” crowd. But Schrader’s actual art reflects an empathy that his public persona seemingly ignores. Schrader’s film is complicated and layered, offering more than simple sociopolitical messages. He is interested in empathy and understanding above all, empathy with a deeply hopeful thread. Hopefulness is a very substantial part of this movie. While both Narvel and Maya have a great deal of personal past trauma that they’re slowly working through, the film gives them a light at the end of the tunnel to pursue — even if that light is still a long way off. Narvel isn’t looking to atone for his past sins but to make something new.
Now, to some, the drama of Master Gardener won’t be able to satiate your appetite completely. Master Gardener is a limited film in its scope and ambition, opting to focus on the intimate rather than the wide-reaching. The stakes a very limited, it’s scope even more so. Although marketed as a thriller, Master Gardener is a relatively relaxed film. While it has punches of tension and excitement, it remains content to focus on the quiet rather than the bombastic. For that, I admire it. It is a movie about restoration, about finding peace in the harshness of the world.
Master Gardener is now playing in select theatres.
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