Plot: The film follows Narvel Roth, the meticulous horticulturist of Gracewood Gardens. He is as much devoted to tending the grounds of this beautiful and historic estate, to pandering to his employer, the wealthy dowager Mrs. Haverhill. When Mrs. Haverhill demands that he take on her wayward and troubled great-niece Maya) as a new apprentice, chaos enters Narvel’s spartan existence, unlocking dark secrets from a buried violent past that threaten them all.
Review: Paul Schrader’s career has always been one of extreme highs and lows. While his writing and directing efforts are typically tagged with his credits on Raging Bull and Taxi Driver, Schrader’s output in the 2000s has been wildly inconsistent. But, since his 2017 masterpiece First Reformed, the filmmaker has delivered a solid follow-up in 2021’s The Card Counter and looks to complete a loose thematic trilogy with Master Gardener. With an exceptional lead performance by Joel Edgerton and solid supporting roles from Sigourney Weaver and Quintessa Swindell, Master Gardener is an unconventional concept for a psychological drama but one that fits nicely along Schrader’s two most recent movies.
Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton), like the characters played by Ethan Hawke and Oscar Isaac in Schrader’s last two films, is a man tortured by his past. Where Schrader’s previous films followed veterans whose experiences in war impacted them, Roth’s past as a white supremacist and Neo-Nazi led to a complete transformation into a gardener and horticulturalist. Throughout the film, Edgerton narrates passages from Narvel’s journal, which lyrically and philosophically compare the exquisite details of plants and gardens to the layers and corners of the human soul. Narvel has found beauty and peace as he oversees the massive Gracewood Gardens on behalf of Mrs. Norma Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver), with whom he has a unique relationship. When Norma tasks Narvel with training her great-niece Maya (Quintessa Swindell), Narvel begins to face his past and what his future could be.
As Narvel teaches Maya how to tend to the gardens and maintain Gracewood, he grows closer to the young woman despite her troubled childhood. For much of the film, we see Narvel in his daily life, maintaining the gardens with an almost zen obsessiveness while rarely raising his voice or changing his tone from a steady monotony. Throughout the film, there are flashbacks to his time before being put into witness protection and his life before becoming Narvel. It is a masterful performance from Joel Edgerton, who conveys more through his steely stare and impeccable demeanor as Narvel, contrasting his shaggy appearance in the flashbacks. Narvel is rarely seen without long sleeves and pants covering his shameful tattoos, which eventually becomes a major factor in his relationship with Maya. To the chagrin of the conservative Norma, Narvel changes thanks to what he sees in young Maya.
Billed as a thriller, there is not much of a mystery in Master Gardener. Instead, Paul Schrader takes a very specific concept like botany and gardens and makes it a perfect metaphor for growth, change, and beauty. Edgerton’s performance is tinged with transformation, both physically and mentally. Sigourney Weaver is also excellent, with her emotional range a nice balance opposite Edgerton. Quintessa Swindell, who has delivered roles in HBO’s In Treatment and last year’s Black Adam, is mature beyond her years and makes Maya a relatable and realistic woman contending with addiction and other challenges in her life. The trio of actors we see on screen the most with a small role from Esai Morales that rounds out this film.
More of a character study than a thriller, Master Gardener is far less intense than First Reformed or The Card Counter. Paul Schrader’s storytelling may not have many other opportunities with this narrative focus. Still, he manages to turn a concept that would otherwise seem like a parody of his films into a fascinating portrait of a man atoning for the evils he perpetrated in his past. Schrader’s direction uses many static shots and lingering views of the garden and the grounds of Gracewood. He reteams with editor Benjamin Rodriguez Jr and cinematographer Alexander Dynan, both of whom worked on First Reformed and The Card Counter, but opted for a new composer. Dev Hynes, who composed Rebecca Hall’s Passing and Melina Matsoukas’ Queen & Slim, has created a beautiful and unique score reminiscent of Philip Glass. It is eerie and compliments the performances here.
Master Gardener does not evoke quite as much of an emotional impact as First Reformed. Still, it also distinguishes itself from either of Schrader’s most recent movies by looking at more of the happiness that can come out of grief instead of wallowing in the pain of it. Joel Edgerton does more with the stoic Narvel Roth than in his prior roles. Schrader has written a wonderful cast of characters here who are richly layered and interesting to watch. Still, it sometimes feels as if the setting of Master Gardener is not quite strong enough to support the entire story. Schrader clearly has the talent to have taken a deep look at the intricate nature of what these characters have wrought, and Master Gardener is a solid companion to First Reformed and The Card Counter, even if it is the flimsiest of the three.