In Paul Schrader’s new film, Joel Edgerton stars as Narvel Roth, a horticulturist of Gracewood Gardens, owned by the wealthy Norma Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver). He has an odd occasional sexual relationship with Norma and has assumed his current identity when he entered the witness protection programme after testifying against the white supremacist gang that he was part of. Norma gets Narvel to take on her troubled mixed race great niece Maya (Quintessa Swindell) as his apprentice. The pair grow close to Norma’s disgust, and Narvel has to, again, wrestle with his past.
This is a beautifully paced film. Although it moves leisurely, especially in the first hour or so, it really gripped me. Schrader’s screenplay, especially the dialogue, is expertly crafted and the three leads are excellent. The plot, towards the end, seems to be going one way but Schrader wrongfoots the audience with a pleasingly ambiguous ending.
This is a rare example of a film that I would have liked to be longer. It would have been good to have known more about how Narvel ended up working for Norma and about his relationship with his FBI handler. Also Narvel and Maya get together quite quickly which seemed a little unrealistic. However, really this is a movie that is hard to fault.
Rating: 9 out of 10