Paul Schrader Predicts Controversy For His Hot-Button ‘Master Gardener’: ‘This One Is Going To Piss People Off’

Paul Schrader is under no illusions about “Master Gardener,” the sure-to-be-divisive final chapter in an informal trilogy that kicked off with 2017’s “First Reformed” and continued with last year’s “The Card Counter.” For starters: the film centers on a former white supremacist (played by Joel Edgerton) and his attempts at redemption.

“This one is going to piss people off,” Schrader told IndieWire of the film, which premiered out of competition this weekend at the Venice Film Festival, where the auteur is also being given a lifetime achievement award. “Obama’s not putting it on his top 10 list.”

READ MORE: Venice Film Festival Preview: 16 Must-See Films To Watch

Obama did indeed put “The Card Counter” on the list of his favorite films last year. But as Schrader puts it, “Master Gardener,” likely won’t draw praise from the former President given that it takes a sympathetic look at a man who once held truly repugnant views finding love with a young mixed-race woman. “The outrageousness of having a Proud Boy find love was just too outrageous to pass up,” added Schrader, who says the character was originally conceived as a former hitman for the mob. “This theme of American racism kept growing.”

Starring Edgerton as Narvel Roth, a horticulturist who’s been placed in the witness protection program after turning on some of his fellow white supremacists, “Master Gardner” focuses on the relationship that forms between Narvel and Maya (Quintessa Swindell), the grand-niece of a wealthy dowager (Sigourney Weaver) who owns the former plantation home where Narvel works as a gardener. As far as Schrader is concerned, that kind of premise is a powder keg in an era notoriously prone to cultural conflagrations.

Fall 2022 Preview: 60+ Must-See Films To Watch

“People want something to argue about, but on the other hand, they’re being very woke in a counterproductive way,” he added. “All it takes is one internet asshole to call this a ‘slave master sexual fantasy’ film, then that could be repeated until it’s a meme. This film is a real gumbo of no-nos.”

Also in the interview, Schrader discusses casting relative newcomer Swindell (Netflix’s “Trinkets,” “Euphoria“), a nonbinary actor whom he calls “luminous” and compares to Lena Horne. “The only actress out there for this role that had any economic weight was Zendaya, and there’s no way she was going to for the kind of money I had,” Schrader said. “You can call Zendaya’s agent; the only thing you hear on the other end is someone laughing.”

You can read the full IndieWire interview here and read our review of “Master Gardener” here.

Follow along with all our coverage from the 2022 Venice Film Festival.