❝Gardening is a belief in the future. A belief that things will happen according to plan. That change will come in its due time.❞

❝It's so simple when it begins. You don't ask why? You forget how it started. One day leads to the next, the seeds of love grow, like the seeds of hate.❞
· · ───── ·⋆⋅𖤓⋅⋆· ───── · ·

This is the first film of Paul Schrader's I've seen, and I have mixed feelings about it, to say the least. Master Gardener started off on strong legs, but it gradually lost me during the second act. I appreciate the sentiment that everyone can change, but I'm not sure the best way to show that was through an ex-Nazi falling in love with a biracial woman more half his age. The cinematography, though, was absolutely gorgeous; I loved how the shots of flowers during the opening credits displayed the life cycles of plants, establishing themes of growth and rebirth that are displayed by some of the characters, as well as the contrast between the dry, off-season look of the gardens in reality versus the lush, surreal beauty of the flowers in dream sequences. When it comes to the cast, I was impressed for the most part; Joel Edgerton's performance re-cemented his place among my favourite actors, with his use of intense body language and facial expressions to convey an intimidating aura surrounding the character of Narvel. Quintessa Swindell was also really good as Maya, displaying a lot of emotion to juxtapose Narvel's withdrawn personality and clash with Norma's (played by Sigourney Weaver) brash and domineering presence. All in all, Master Gardener isn't necessarily a bad film, and I'm glad I gave it a go; in my opinion, it's worth watching just for Edgerton's performance.

❝Gardening is a belief in the future. A belief that things will happen according to plan. That change will come in its due time.❞

❝It's so simple when it begins. You don't ask why? You forget how it started. One day leads to the next, the seeds of love grow, like the seeds of hate.❞
· · ───── ·⋆⋅𖤓⋅⋆· ───── · ·

This is the first film of Paul Schrader's I've seen, and I have mixed feelings about it, to say the least. Master Gardener started off on strong legs, but it gradually lost me during the second act. I appreciate the sentiment that everyone can change, but I'm not sure the best way to show that was through an ex-Nazi falling in love with a biracial woman more half his age. The cinematography, though, was absolutely gorgeous; I loved how the shots of flowers during the opening credits displayed the life cycles of plants, establishing themes of growth and rebirth that are displayed by some of the characters, as well as the contrast between the dry, off-season look of the gardens in reality versus the lush, surreal beauty of the flowers in dream sequences. When it comes to the cast, I was impressed for the most part; Joel Edgerton's performance re-cemented his place among my favourite actors, with his use of intense body language and facial expressions to convey an intimidating aura surrounding the character of Narvel. Quintessa Swindell was also really good as Maya, displaying a lot of emotion to juxtapose Narvel's withdrawn personality and clash with Norma's (played by Sigourney Weaver) brash and domineering presence. All in all, Master Gardener isn't necessarily a bad film, and I'm glad I gave it a go; in my opinion, it's worth watching just for Edgerton's performance.

Cinematography good, plot bad imo

Cinematography good, plot bad imo

74 

Sigourney Weaver racist?

74 

Sigourney Weaver racist?

at its best when you don’t think about it too hard and just go on pure feeling. bizarre, bizarre movie but its so sincere that i didn’t realize how strange it all truly was until the credits rolled and i was like “wait a minute”. definitely more than a little problematic and rough around the edges but thats also part of what makes it interesting. the gardens are so beautifully shot dude its all so meditative. doesn’t quite stick the landing i think and the whole last third goes a bit sideways unfortunately. it refuses to engage with a lot of its implications, and although i understand why, when these implications are so serious it kinda makes you wish it did. still, im a sucker for the whole man in a room schtick and i really enjoyed a lot of this despite it’s flaws. very compelling stuff.

at its best when you don’t think about it too hard and just go on pure feeling. bizarre, bizarre movie but its so sincere that i didn’t realize how strange it all truly was until the credits rolled and i was like “wait a minute”. definitely more than a little problematic and rough around the edges but thats also part of what makes it interesting. the gardens are so beautifully shot dude its all so meditative. doesn’t quite stick the landing i think and the whole last third goes a bit sideways unfortunately. it refuses to engage with a lot of its implications, and although i understand why, when these implications are so serious it kinda makes you wish it did. still, im a sucker for the whole man in a room schtick and i really enjoyed a lot of this despite it’s flaws. very compelling stuff.

• That reveal was crazy!• I don’t know if I can fully believe the progression of the love story.

• That reveal was crazy!• I don’t know if I can fully believe the progression of the love story.