MASTER GARDENER (SUMMER FILM FESTIVAL) REVIEW!!!
- Matt Palmer
- Jul 22, 2023
- 2 min read
Remaining show dates/times: Sat. 7/22 - 9:45 and Friday 7/28 - 2:15
Studios: Magnolia Pictures/HanWay Films
Tagline: You reap what you sow.
Plot: The film follows Narvel Roth, the meticulous horticulturalist of Gracewood Gardens. He is as much devoted to tending the grounds of this beautiful and historic estate, to pondering 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 threatens them all.
Cast
Joel Edgerton - Narvel Roth
Sigourney Weaver - Norma Haverhill
Quientessa Swindell - Maya Core
Esai Morales - Oscar Neruda
Eduardo Losan - Xavier
Victoria Hill - Isobel Phelps
Amy Le - Janine
Erika Ashley - Maggie
Timothy McKinney - Ronnie
Jared Bankens - R.G.
Matt Mercurio - Sissy
Christian Freeman - John
Writer/director: Paul Schrader (There Are No Saints; The Card Counter; First Reformed)
Rated R for language, brief sexual content and nudity (111 minutes)
Master Gardener is a complex little film from Taxi Driver director Paul Schrader. This film can be entertaining at times and a little intriguing, especially once it starts to focus on the Narvel Roth character.
The film can be a little slow at times, but all of the garden shots are really beautiful. Throughout some bits of the film, you can also learn quite a bit about flowers and other garden education. Once it's revealed that Narvel Roth has a past and is in the witness protection program, Master Gardener slightly changes its tone and the film becomes more fast-paced.
When the tone changes, the film can get a little thrilling at times and Joel Edgerton (who has appeared in numerous films over the years) still gives a great performance like always.
Overall, Master Gardener can be a tad slow-moving at times, but it can be an entertaining drama that can deliver some thrills towards the later half of the film. And, there is also a bit of dialogue that isn't really the greatest.
Here are a couple tidbits for Master Gardener:
Zendaya was Paul Schrader's first choice to play Maya, but they wouldn't come to an agreement on what fee she would be paid.
The film was announced in September 2021. Filming began in Louisiana on February 3, 2022.
Master Gardener had its world premiere out of competition at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2022. The film had a limited theatrical release in the US by Magnolia Pictures on May 19, 2023. It was released digitally by Magnolia Home Entertainment on June 6, 2023.
The film grossed $665,450 in North America, and $541,523 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.2 million, against a production budget of $4.7 million.
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