Joel Edgerton and Sigourney Weaver deliver outstanding, nuanced performances in revered filmmaker Paul Schrader’s latest explosive study of male guilt and redemption.

Fastidiously buttoned down, Narvel tends the extensive gardens of a sprawling estate. He takes clear pride in his work, which on occasion branches out to servicing the grounds’ owner, Norma, in more intimate ways. Norma is every bit the Southern dowager: imperious, wealthy and white. When she tasks her master gardener with taking on her estranged grand-niece Maya as an apprentice, it sets the stage for an emotional showdown as jealousy, bigotry and history catch up with all three of them.

Ever since Taxi Driver, Oscar-nominated writer and director Paul Schrader has forged his esteemed career on Travis Bickle–esque ‘God’s lonely man’ archetypes. Narvel is no exception, with Edgerton’s restrained performance ranking among his very best. As Norma, Weaver is equally impressive; her pointed tete-a-tetes with Quintessa Swindell, who plays Maya, are an absolute highlight. Following First Reformed (MIFF 2018) and The Card Counter, Master Gardener rounds out Schrader’s informal trilogy of films centred on troubled masculinity and redemption – yet it’s also the most optimistic film he’s ever made.

“Schrader delivers another compelling investigation of conflicted men in modern America … A knockout punch.” – Empire