Master Gardener (2022) | Dir. Paul Schrader
Joel Edgerton and Sigourney Weaver in MASTER GARDENER, a Magnolia Pictures release. © 2022 MASTER GARDENER US LLC. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Text: Belle McIntyre
Director, Paul Schrader, working from his own screenplay has conjured up a garden of earthly delights which also includes some equally unsavory elements, something of a hallmark of his work. Following the lushly beautiful opening credits featuring slow-motion images of exotic flowers blooming we are brought into the actual gardens where these prized species are meticulously bred, nurtured, and cared for by the horticulturist Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton). He is employed by Norma Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver), the wealthy dowager and doyenne of Gracewood Gardens, a beautiful historic estate somewhere in the South.
Joel Edgerton in MASTER GARDENER, a Magnolia Pictures release. © 2022 MASTER GARDENER US LLC. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
The imperious Mrs. Haverhill presides over her considerable staff with a distant, chilly efficiency. She has a more collaborative relationship with Narvel, whom she appears to trust and respect for his knowledge and painstaking record keeping. Scenes of Narvel writing notes, with voice over, in his journal reveal hints of a dark past as he uses botanical metaphors for observations on human behavior.
Quintessa Swindell and Joel Edgerton in MASTER GARDENER, a Magnolia Pictures release. © 2022 MASTER GARDENER US LLC. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
The strangeness of their relationship becomes evident when she invites Narvel to have dinner in her formal dining room with jellyfish-printed wallpaper. This is where she informs him that she has arranged for a grand niece, whom she barely knows and does not seem to have any affection for, to come and apprentice with Narvel. She is young, bi-racial, and seems to be on a bad track, with no other relatives so noblesse oblige kicks in. Narvel is not given a choice in that matter. Nor does it appear that he has any options when she tells him to take her to bed with the same cool hauteur.
Sigourney Weaver in MASTER GARDENER, a Magnolia Pictures release. © 2022 MASTER GARDENER US LLC. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
The arrival of Maya (Quintessa Swindell), who is ghetto-tough, beautiful, and bright, changes the dynamic on the estate, when elements from her druggy past come to the surface. Narvel, in his role as mentor, takes on more than he bargained for. His own shameful past from which he has worked so hard to redeem himself, has come back to haunt him and threatens his present. When Norma banishes them both, comparisons with Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden are impossible to ignore.
Joel Edgerton and Quintessa Swindell in MASTER GARDENER, a Magnolia Pictures release. © 2022 MASTER GARDENER US LLC. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Everything which was orderly becomes cataclysmic, chaotic, and violent and no one is spared. This is also where the story becomes harder to buy into. Narvel and Maya go on the run from Norma, Maya’s bad company, and Narvel’s Proud Boys' past, for which he is on probation. The backlash comes back hard on Norma and her beloved garden. The implied redemption is quite a cringeworthy stretch. The acting style is extremely stilted except for Maya, who is wonderfully natural. The cinematography is gorgeous as are the locations and sets. It is not an entirely satisfying film. But it is provocative and largely engaging.
