{"id":155396,"date":"2025-01-11T23:53:06","date_gmt":"2025-01-11T23:53:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/?p=2042308"},"modified":"2025-01-11T23:53:06","modified_gmt":"2025-01-11T23:53:06","slug":"oh-canada-is-last-thing-we-expect-from-paul-schrader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/11\/oh-canada-is-last-thing-we-expect-from-paul-schrader\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Oh, Canada\u2019 Is Last Thing We Expect from Paul Schrader"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paul Schrader\u2019s \u201cOh, Canada\u201d is a morose, strange and only partially engaging drama that represents a rare misstep in the prolific filmmaker\u2019s career.<\/strong><\/p>\n

While Schrader\u2019s films can be hit or miss, he\u2019s been on a roll, with the success of his wild, provocative \u201cFirst Reformed\u201d and the surprisingly potent \u201cThe Card Dealer.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Schrader, you always wait to be hit with an ice-cold plot twist that sends his characters tumbling down the rabbit hole. As a prolific film artist, Schrader\u2019s best films are classics and his worst films are, nevertheless, fascinating and full of intriguing elements.<\/p>\n

Now in his late 70s and still making movies that generate shock and fascinating discussions, it\u2019s impossible for me to count Schrader out, even when he makes something like \u201cOh, Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n

Richard Gere stars as Leo Fife, an elderly, celebrated filmmaker who agrees to an extensive interview for a documentary on his life. Michael Imperioli plays the documentary’s director, while Uma Thurman co-stars as Fife\u2019s wife, who sits at his side.<\/p>\n

As extensive flashbacks take up the majority of the running time, Gere\u2019s character is also played by Jacob Elordi (a good choice to portray a youthful Leo). We see that in his younger days, Fife was a draft dodger who created a whole new life for himself in another country.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s about it for the plot.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a brief montage of the movies Fife made but otherwise, we\u2019re drifting through the mental mists of Fife\u2019s ailing psyche. Schrader has made many films that are disturbing and confrontational but never this dull.<\/p>\n

A bizarre touch is how, in addition to Elordi and Gere playing the same character at varying times of his life, sometimes the flashback will begin with Elordi, then switch to Gere playing the part and taking over the scene and vice versa.<\/p>\n

Likewise, Thurman sometimes plays her younger self against Elordi as Fife\u2019s younger self. There are two practical reasons why Schrader decided to do this: it conveys how we view the past, despite what age we are presently and immerse ourselves in our fading memories.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf you\u2019re gonna make a film about dying, you better hurry up.\u201d Paul Schrader on how a bout with long COVID, inspired him to make a film based on Russell Banks\u2019 novel FOREGONE and how it ended up being called OH, CANADA. #TIFF24<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/8pWqvJsrEg<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 TIFF (@TIFF_NET) December 18, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n