Paul Schrader is a first ballot Hall of Famer who wrote or co-wrote “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull” and “The Last Temptation of Christ” and is the writer or co-writer/director of films such as “Blue Collar,” “Hardcore,” “American Gigolo” and “Cat People.” In recent years, the 76-year-old writer-director has experienced a renaissance with two dark and electrifying films featuring classic Schrader anti-heroes going through some extremely heavy stuff: “First Reformed” in 2017 and “The Card Counter” in 2021.
Now comes “Master Gardener,” the last entry in this sort of spiritual trilogy about men who have been deeply scarred by past events and are struggling mightily to remain on the path to redemption. As has been the case with much of Schrader’s work, there’s a stark contrast between the stoic, flat-toned, world-weary nature of the protagonist as he tells his own story—and the bursts of violence and shocking revelations unveiled deep into the journey. At times, Schrader’s stylized script requires us to take some challenging leaps of faith, and the dialogue occasionally veers into WTF territory, as if we’re watching an overwrought stage production, but this is a gripping and tense slow build about a man who was once a monster and has literally turned to the soil to regenerate himself.
