Review: Master Gardener

Image courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

Paul Schrader's past three films have all centered around men whose troubled pasts inform their mostly peaceful present existences, which are shaken up by the presence of newcomers or challenges that threaten to expose their pasts. 

In "First Reformed," Ethan Hawke's pastor was a former alcoholic with a crisis of faith whose son was killed in Iraq and whose quiet existence is upended by the arrival of a younger woman and her environmentalist husband. "The Card Counter" followed Oscar Isaac's former military torturer who indulges in nonstop card games to prevent him from doing something harmful.

Joel Edgerton plays Narvel Roth, the latest troubled man at the center of one of Schrader's films - in this case, the engrossing "Master Gardener." Roth has a deeply troubled past - which I won't divulge - but has been working for some time as the gardener extraordinaire for Miss Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver), an heiress with a sharp tongue whose estate includes a massive - and, apparently, award winning - garden. As the film opens, they are preparing for a spring show.

Haverhill tells Narvel that she has a favor to ask him: Her niece Maya (Quintessa Swindell), who lost her mother to cancer and her father to a drug overdose, has been struggling with "lifestyle issues" and could use some mentoring. She requests that Narvel take Maya under his wig, show her the ropes of gardening, and help to straighten her out. At first, Narvel - whose myriad past problems help him to notice others' struggles - recognizes that Maya is an occasional drug user, and learns that she has an abusive drug-dealing boyfriend.

Although Maya is a quick study in the garden, her extracurricular activities lead to some problems at the estate, especially when Narvel notices a bruise on her face. It's difficult to describe what happens next without giving away Narvel's secret, although there's a scene early on in which he strips to the waist in front of a mirror that gives us a glimpse, and how he uses his past to confront Maya's problems.

"Master Gardener" is kind of a thriller and sort of a romance. It deals with some controversial topics - and some have argued that the film doesn't appear to want to tackle those subjects in depth, although I believe the topics exist in the context of the film to enable Narvel to prove to Maya that a troubled past doesn't necessarily limit the possibilities for one's future. 

Seemingly out of the blue, there is a strangely surreal sequence that might be a dream or a fantasy that doesn't entirely work. On the whole, however, "Master Gardener" is a compelling film with a tightly controlled performance by Edgerton. Swindell is also very good, and Weaver gets in a strong supporting performance as Haverhill, who is also more complex than she might outwardly appear. 

Perhaps the biggest shock is that the film, considering that it's one by Schrader (writer of "Taxi Driver" and director of such downer classics as "Affliction" and "Hardcore"), is ultimately hopeful. The director's work as of late has been notably grim and bleak - albeit quite good - and described as Bressonian, so it's genuinely surprising that the film's coda suggests that people can, in fact, change for the better. This is another very well made film from a director who has been on a winning streak as of late.