joel edgerton – Cinema Perspective

There are classic stories that are told time and time again in cinema, and one of which is that of the sports underdog. We’ve had Rocky, Chariots of Fire, Cool Runnings and more, and Depression-era drama Boys in the Boat slots nicely into that category. Directed by George Clooney and based upon the 2013 non-fiction book of the same name, the plot follows working class engineering student Joe Rantz (Callum Turner) as he struggles to stay on top of tuition payments at the University of Washington. Encouraged by his classmate Roger (Sam Strike), the pair sign up for the school’s rowing team in the hope of earning some extra money and they embark on an unlikely trail to compete at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

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Auteurs are defined as filmmakers whose ‘individual style and complete control over all elements of production give a film its personal and unique stamp’. Paul Schrader’s films have always dealt in redemption and masculinity but in recent years, he has almost developed his recurring themes into a genre of their own. The final instalment of his thematically linked contemporary trilogy, following on from 2017’s First Reformed and 2021’s The Card Counter, is psychological indie thriller Master Gardener. The story centres around Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton), a horticulturist who works for wealthy widow Mrs Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver) by tending to her picture-esque Louisiana estate. When her troubled great-niece Maya (Quintessa Swindell) comes to stay and becomes Narvel’s apprentice, he is forced to reckon with his own dark, dangerous past.

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