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If you are a fan of Paul Schrader’s work, then Master Gardener (2023) is something you might want to look forward to. The Academy Award-nominated director-screenwriter writes and directs this crime thriller film featuring Joel Edgerton and Sigourney Weaver in the leading roles. Esai Morales and Quintessa Swindell also star in significant roles. Master Gardener follows Narvel Roth (Edgerton) a brilliant and meticulous horticulturist who is devoted to his plants and his employer. He works for Mrs. Haverhill, a wealthy dowager and owner of the lavish estate of Gracewood Gardens who decides to put her young and troubled niece under the apprenticeship of Narvel. But when Narvel meets the young woman, his systematic, idyllic life is thrown into disarray and his dark past resurfaces, threatening everything and everyone around him.
The independent crime thriller film premiered at the 2022 Venice Film Festival and is now set to arrive at the theaters. The film’s reviews during its film festival run have been quite positive, especially for the strong cast and powerful performances of Edgerton and Weaver. Like Schrader’s most films, known for their bold and compelling narrative and complex protagonists, Master Gardener also follows the filmmaker’s signature style, making it a compelling film.
Read on for a quick guide with all the details of how, when, and where you can watch Master Gardener.
When Is Master Gardener Coming to Movie Theaters?
Master Gardener is set to get a limited theatrical release in the United States by Magnolia Pictures on Friday, May 19, 2023. The film first premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2022.
Will Master Gardener Be Available on Streaming?
Master Gardener is slated for an exclusive theatrical release and at the moment, there is no news about the film’s streaming release. However, in the coming months, you can expect to find this crime thriller film on one of the popular streaming platforms. A couple of recent releases by Magnolia Pictures, like Joyride, Piggy, and Baby Ruby are already on streamers like Hulu and AMC+, so Master Gardener could also land on one of those in the future.
Watch the Master Gardener Trailer
The official trailer of Master Gardener would possibly remind you of the filmmaker’s favorite kind of protagonist – a troubled man seeking redemption. But let’s look at this crime thriller with a fresh perspective. After all, Joel Edgerton’s characterizations always stand out, even if it’s in a familiar theme. As the two-minute clip shows, it’s a dark and layered film, with complex characters that you cannot dissect as good or bad. The setting of the movie is a subtle reminder of classic crime thrillers, like film adaptations of Agatha Christie’s works, which we don’t usually see in contemporary stories. The trailer also reveals the main characters played by Edgerton, Weaver, Swindell, and Morales. One particular exchange between Weaver’s Mrs. Haverhill and Edgerton’s Narvel Roth speaks a lot about their equation and what kind of performance to expect from these actors. Watch the official trailer in the player above.
Is Master Gardener Coming Out on VOD and DVD?
There is no news about the VOD and DVD release for Master Gardener, but the film will likely get a digital and on-demand release in the next couple of months. A physical media release, if it is happening, will likely take at least two to three months to materialize.
Master Gardener Showtimes
You can use the following links to check for Master Gardener showtimes and tickets at a theater near you
What Is Master Gardener About?
After Schrader’s recent films like 2018’s First Reformed and 2021’s The Card Counter, it may seem like Master Gardener continues a certain theme/subject that the filmmaker has been exploring for a while. All these movies follow lonely, troubled men with a dark past who have managed to reinvent their lives, but something or someone seems to dig up the ghosts of their past and threaten their existence. Master Gardener also features a similar protagonist. Here's the official synopsis of Master Gardener:
Directed by Academy Award® nominee Paul Schrader based on his original screenplay, Master Gardener follows Narvel Roth (award-winner Joel Edgerton), the meticulous horticulturist of Gracewood Gardens. He is as much devoted to tending the grounds of this beautiful and historic estate, to pandering to his employer, the wealthy dowager Mrs. Haverhill (three-time Academy Award® nominee Sigourney Weaver). When Mrs. Haverhill demands that he take on her wayward and troubled great-niece Maya (Quintessa Swindell) as a new apprentice, chaos enters Narvel’s spartan existence, unlocking dark secrets from a buried violent past that threaten them all.
More Paul Schrader Films That You Can Watch Right Now
An acclaimed director, screenwriter, and film critic, Paul Schrader is best known for his early collaborations with Martin Scorsese as a writer on acclaimed titles like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, among others. In his career spanning nearly 50 years, the filmmaker has made a wide range of films, from commercially popular titles to critically acclaimed, independent films, and is best known for “a man in a room” stories, which remain a recurring theme in his films. Check out these popular films by Schrader, while you wait for Master Gardener to join the list.
Raging Bull (1980)
Although Schrader didn’t direct this 1980 film, he worked on the screenplay with Mardik Martin, and it remains a major highlight of his career and won him several awards. This biographical sports drama is directed by Martin Scorsese and based on Jake LaMotta's 1970 memoir Raging Bull: My Story. Robert De Niro stars as the Italian-American middleweight boxer in this biopic, which follows his rise and fall and shows how his self-destructive attitude and vicious rage ruined his family and personal relationships. The film also stars Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty, Nicholas Colasanto, Theresa Saldana, and Frank Vincent, in various supporting roles, with John Turturro in his debut role. Raging Bull was nominated for Academy Awards in eight categories and won Best Actor for De Niro and Best Film Editing for Thelma Schoonmaker.
Affliction (1998)
This 90s neo-noir crime thriller film is based on the eponymous novel by Russell Banks. The story follows a small-town police officer, Wade, with a sullied reputation, a dwindling career, and a disturbed personal life. But when he discovers a mysterious death, reported to be an accident, he gets obsessed with proving it to be murder to redeem himself and turn his life around. Nick Nolte stars as the protagonist, Wade Whitehouse, with James Coburn, Sissy Spacek, and Willem Dafoe in major roles. For his performance, Nolte was nominated for the Best Actor award at the 71st Oscars, with Coburn winning for Best Supporting Actor. Affliction was critically acclaimed and gained positive reviews from fans as well.
First Reformed (2018)
In one of his more recent projects, Schrader made this psychological drama film with Ethan Hawke as the protagonist. First Reformed also earned the filmmaker his first-ever Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. The film’s plot follows a minister, Pastor Ernst Toller, played by Hawke, who serves at a historic church in upstate New York, while he struggles with his personal issues. Pastor Toller lives a quiet life until a disturbing encounter with a pregnant woman and her unhinged environmental activist husband sets him into questioning his faith and upending his life. First Reformed also stars Amanda Seyfried, Cedric Kyles, and Philip Ettinger in other roles. The drama film was highly acclaimed by critics, with special appreciation for the screenplay and Hawke’s performance. First Reformed went on to become one of the top 10 films of 2018, as chosen by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute.