This is a shot of Paul Schrader on the set of “The Master Gardener.” The film is set for a six-week shoot. This comes after his last two critically-acclaimed films, “First Reformed,” and “The Card Counter.”
On 01.04.22 I wrote:
I was hesitant in including Paul Schrader’s “The Master Gardener” on my Most Anticipated Films of 2022 list, mostly because I hadn’t heard of a shooting date. Alas, I’m now being told production on the film will be starting this week.
Schrader's upcoming crime thriller stars Joel Edgerton as Narvel Roth, the gardener of an American estate who is forced to confront his dark past. He panders to his employer, the wealthy dowager (Sigourney Weaver). When she demands that he take on her wayward and troubled great niece, it unlocks dark secrets from a buried violent past.
Schrader has been on fire lately with “First Reformed,” and “The Card Counter” — will “The Master Gardener” complete his Bresson trilogy? Is it even a part of it? Regardless, these last two films by Schrader rank among his very best, right up there with “Rolling Thunder” and “Blue Collar.”
And just like that, after Venice and Telluride, the Best Actor race is taking shape, with Andrew Scott (“Elsinore”) and John Malkovich (“Wild Horse Nine”) emerging as major contenders.