Master Gardener is a 2022 American crime thriller film written and directed by Paul Schrader and starring Joel Edgerton, Sigourney Weaver, and Quintessa Swindell. The film premiered out of competition at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2022, and was released in the United States by Magnolia Pictures on May 19, 2023.

Plot
Narvel Roth is the meticulous horticulturist of Gracewood Gardens, a beautiful estate owned by wealthy dowager Mrs. Haverhill, with whom he is having an affair. Unbeknownst to his team of gardeners, Roth is a former White supremacist in witness protection, having betrayed his former associates after refusing to kill a black preacher's wife and daughter. Haunted by his past, Roth finds solace in ritualistic journaling, covering his White supremacist tattoos under gardening clothes, and the fine details of gardening, which he describes as "a belief in the future".

Mrs. Haverhill orders Roth to take on her recently-orphaned grandniece, Maya, as an apprentice so that she can eventually take over the Gardens and keep it "in the family". Though she is resistant to the training, and her relationship with Mrs. Haverhill remains strained, Maya and Roth eventually grow close. When Maya is assaulted by her drug dealer, R.G., Roth has his case agent intimidate him. Maya attempts to seduce Roth, but he rebuffs her when she tries to take off his shirt. Mrs. Haverhill spies Roth leaving Maya's room, and, spurned, fires them both. Roth and Maya decide to leave together, stopping first at Maya's apartment, where she gets high one last time and Roth intimidates R.G. and his friend Sissy. After a few days on the road, Roth begins to open up to Maya and removes his shirt in their motel room, his tattoos shocking Maya. When she confronts him about them, he insists that he's a different man now. They have sex for the first time that night, but Maya makes Roth promise that he'll have the tattoos removed.

Roth soon receives a call that R.G. and Sissy have vandalized the Gardens. They return, and Haverhill gives him a Luger to kill R.G. and Sissy but Roth uses his own gun instead. Finding R.G. and Sissy at a party house, Roth gives the gun to Maya to kill them herself, but she decides against it. Roth instead breaks their legs. Needing Roth to restore the garden, Haverhill rehires both Roth and Maya. Roth tells Mrs. Haverhill that their affair is over and that he and Maya will be getting married, which Mrs. Haverhill calls "obscene". Roth tells her that he has seen obscenity. Haverhill vindictively tries to shoot Roth but Roth knows that the gun has no bullet, causing Haverhill to relent and let him go. Roth and Maya dance on the porch of his cabin in the Gardens.

Cast
 Joel Edgerton as Narvel Roth / Norton Rupplea
 Sigourney Weaver as Norma Haverhill
 Quintessa Swindell as Maya Core
 Esai Morales as Oscar Neruda
 Eduardo Losan as Xavier
 Victoria Hill as Isobel Phelps
 Amy Le as Janine
 Erika Ashley as Maggie
 Jared Bankens as R.G.
 Matt Mercurio as Sissy
 Rick Cosnett as Stephen Collins

Production
It was announced in September 2021 that Joel Edgerton and Sigourney Weaver had been cast in the film, written and directed by Paul Schrader. Filming began in Louisiana on February 3, 2022, and was scheduled to take place in the St. Francisville area through early March. On February 8, it was announced that two more actors joined the cast, Quintessa Swindell (replacing Zendaya, whom Schrader originally had in mind), and Esai Morales.

Release 
Master Gardener had its world premiere out of competition at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2022. The film had a limited theatrical release in the United States by Magnolia Pictures on May 19, 2023. It was released digitally by Magnolia Home Entertainment on June 6, 2023.

Reception

Box office 
Master Gardener grossed $665,450 in North America and $541,523 in other territories, for a total worldwide of $1.2 million, against a production budget of $4.7 million.

Critical response

References

External links
 

2022 films
2022 crime thriller films
2022 independent films
2020s American films
2020s English-language films
American crime thriller films
American independent films
Films about neo-Nazis
Films about witness protection
Films directed by Paul Schrader
Films scored by Dev Hynes
Films shot in Louisiana
Films with screenplays by Paul Schrader
HanWay Films films
Magnolia Pictures films
United States Marshals Service in fiction
Works about gardening