Master Gardener
critic Reviews
, 71% Fresh Tomatometer Score- Master Gardener suggests Paul Schrader might need to find a new patch of creative soil to till, but some strong performances make it difficult to dismiss.
- , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreChristina NewlandiNews.co.uk
Master Gardener is a morally murky work of art, but it leaves us no doubt about Schrader’s belief in the possibilities of forgiveness.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreMurtada ElfadlAV Club
Master Gardener supposedly has a contemporary setting. Yet it feels out of time, or belonging to a long gone era. Part of that is the profession of its lead character, and part is Mrs. Haverhill. Both seem like relics from another time and place.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreTara BradyIrish Times
The scale of ideas is big. American social and racial frictions are entertainingly engaged as we work our way towards a shoot-em-up denouement. At 76, more than 20 films into his storied career, Paul Schrader can still deliver a sucker punch.
Read full article - , Rotten Tomatometer ScoreTim CogshellFilmWeek (LAist)
Paul Schrader wants me to forgive [this character]. No, I don't forgive him. And this is just sloppy filmmaking.
Read full article - , Rotten Tomatometer ScoreLinda MarricThe Jewish Chronicle
I wish Master Gardener had the wit and courage of Schrader ’s earlier works, instead of relying on some half-baked ideas about masculinity, race and age-gap romance
Read full article - , Rotten Tomatometer ScoreWendy IdeObserver (UK)
The weakest of Schrader’s stories foregrounding strong, silent, troubled men.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreMitchell BeauprePaste Magazine
What sets Master Gardener apart is its overwhelming tenderness.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreMel CampbellScreenHub
This film simmers with the horticultural potential for violence, just as a seed waits for the right conditions to explode into a plant … But I found it strangely – touchingly – optimistic.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreAlejandro LingentiLa Nación (Argentina)
Shrader's rigorous compositions, dense atmospheres, and the specific weight of his reflections are unusual within the abundantly conventional cinema produced in his country. [Full review in Spanish]
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScorePablo O. ScholzClarín
A story of redemption. [Full review in Spanish]
Read full article