One of Hollywood's masters of the screenplay, Paul Schrader, has a new movie coming out in 2023, Master Gardener. But don't let the flowery title fool you, this movie has all the makings of a dark, violent thriller that Schrader has made his calling card throughout his career.
Schrader's list of screenplay credits include the likes of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, Affliction and, more recently, First Reformed and The Card Counter. He also directed those last three movies (the first three having been directed by Martin Scorsese). He takes on the dual role of writer/director again with Master Gardener, alongside a leading duo of Joel Edgerton and Sigourney Weaver.
Here is everything that you need to know about Master Gardener.
Master Gardener release date
Master Gardener is going to be an alternative pick for movie fans during the summer blockbuster season, as it releases exclusively in theaters on May 19; it shares that date with Fast X.
The movie has been seen by many already, as it played the 2022 film festival circuit, including the Venice and New York Film Festivals.
Master Gardener plot
A main character with a dark and troubled past is par for the course for a Schrader movie, but how he'll make it all work within the world of gardening should be interesting. Here is the official synopsis from Magnolia Pictures:
"A meticulous horticulturist is devoted to tending the grounds of a beautiful estate owned by a wealthy dowager. When he's told to take on her troubled great-niece as an apprentice, his life is thrown into chaos and dark secrets from his past emerge."
Master Gardener cast
Joel Edgerton headlines the movie as the titular master gardener, aka Narvel Roth. Edgerton is a well known actor, whose most recent credits include Thirteen Lives, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Green Knight and The Underground Railroad.
Sigourney Weaver also stars as the dowager, Norma Haverhill, who employs Narvel. Weaver is a Hollywood icon, best known for her role as Ellen Ripley in the Alien franchise, as well as in Ghostbusters, Gorillas in the Mist, Working Girl, Galaxy Quest and the Avatar movies.
Rounding out the main cast is Quintessa Swindell as Maya, Norma's niece. Swindell's first role came in the hit series Euphoria, with some of her other credits thus far including Voyagers, In Treatment and Black Adam.
Check out IMDb for some of the other actors appearing in the movie.
Master Gardener trailer
The official trailer for Master Gardener is here and available to watch directly below:
Master Gardener reviews
Since it played the fall festival circuit, early reviews for Master Gardener are already in. As of March 28, the movie has a "Fresh" score of 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. Here is a sampling of some of the reviews:
Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair: "This is a spare film, crisply performed and quietly staged. Weaver's crackling grande dame imperiousness may be enough to carry the viewer away."
Siddhant Adlakha, IGN: "Master Gardener rounds off Paul Schrader's informal trilogy about tortured men reckoning with the past, present, and future, and may be his most accomplished film in years."
Chuck Bowen, Slant Magazine: "For Paul Schrader, even a film called Master Gardener ultimately pivots on a man having to take out the macho trash."
Paul Schrader movies
Paul Schrader has been working in Hollywood since the 1970s, having his hand in a number of big movies and earning himself quite the reputation (plus one Oscar nomination). Here is a full rundown of his feature movies, the ones he wrote and directed:
- The Yakuza, writer (1974)
- Taxi Driver, writer (1976)
- Obsession, writer (1976)
- Rolling Thunder, writer (1977)
- Blue Collar, writer/director (1978)
- Hardcore, writer/director (1979)
- Old Boyfriends, writer (1979)
- American Gigolo, writer/director (1980)
- Raging Bull, writer (1980)
- Cat People, writer/director (1982)
- Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, writer/director (1985)
- The Mosquito Coast, writer (1986)
- Light of Day, writer/director (1987)
- The Last Temptation of Christ, writer (1988)
- Patty Hearst, director (1988)
- The Comfort of Strangers, director (1990)
- Light Sleeper, writer/director (1992)
- City Hall, writer (1996)
- Affliction, writer/director (1997)
- Touch, writer/director (1997)
- Bringing Out the Dead, writer (1999)
- Forever Mine, writer/director (1999)
- Auto Focus, director (2002)
- Dominion, director (2005)
- The Walker, writer/director (2007)
- Adam Resurrected, director (2008)
- The Canyons, director (2013)
- Dying of the Light, writer/director (2014)
- Dog Eat Dog, director (2016)
- Dark, director (2017)
- First Reformed, writer/director (2017)
- The Card Counter, writer/director (2021)
