December 11, 2024
FILM: OH, CANADA
DIRECTED BY: PAUL SCHRADER
STARRING: RICHARD GERE, UMA THURMAN, JACOB ELORDI
RATING: 1 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
It was some forty years ago that Paul Schrader wrote and directed the film American Gigolo which put Richard Gere into the stratosphere of stardom also making him the sex symbol of the moment. Now, the two have collaborated again in one of the worst films of 2024. It’s a film that will not revive either of their careers because it is a complete mess of a project. Even bringing in today’s big actor/sex object Jacob Elordi (Saltburn, Euphoria) does nothing to save the film. Let’s also throw in Uma Thurman and it becomes clear that someone thought this was a promising project and convinced some fine actors to be a part of it only to be left with an incomprehensible script that fails to add up to anything.
When we first meet Gere as Leo Fife he couldn’t be more the opposite of who Gere played in that 1980 film. Fife is looking scrawny and sickly. We find out later he is dying of cancer. He’s apparently been a successful college professor and documentary filmmaker in Canada. His wife Emma (Thurman) and former student Malcolm (Michael Imperioli) have decided to make a documentary about him. As they interview Fife, it appears that he has confused some of his memories with his films and fantasies. The film we view moves back and forth through time as Elordi, playing young Fife, is first in Richmond, Virginia planning to move to Vermont with his wife. He’s then offered a position in the business world which would require him to stay in town. There are also scenes of him even younger in which he is supposedly planning to go to Cuba. Cutting between these periods is confusing enough but Schrader makes it even more convoluted by having Gere also play Fife when he is younger. Why Elordi doesn’t play the younger Fife the entire time is unclear. Did Gere want more screen time? As such, the chronology and character depictions are all over the map.
What Schrader is trying to articulate is sadly very vague. There are references to draft dodging, as the scenes with young Fife take place between 1968 and 1970, but these don’t lead anywhere. Schrader may be trying to explore the effects of political filmmaking through Fife but we never really learn much about the kinds of films he was making. One could argue that Oh, Canada is about memory, cancer, suffering, capturing the truth on film, and/or becoming a Canadian citizen but none of these ideas are given any real depth or true exploration.
Gere is okay as Fife but he still comes across as a bit arrogant, a quality that may have forever hampered his chances of giving more truly great performances. Elordi is fine but isn’t really given enough to do to show off the range we saw in films such as Priscilla and Saltburn. Uma Thurman is as radiant as ever and has allowed herself to age with some very interesting qualities on her face. Schrader makes an odd choice though in also casting her in another role in which she interacts with young Fife. There doesn’t seem to be any logical explanation for this.
In the end, it is just not clear what Schrader is trying to say with this film. Perhaps there are some ideas buried here but even the reasoning for the character of Fife being interviewed remains a mystery. Neither he nor Schrader seem to have anything significant to say.
Oh, Canada is in limited theatrical release.
FILM: OH, CANADA
DIRECTED BY: PAUL SCHRADER
STARRING: RICHARD GERE, UMA THURMAN, JACOB ELORDI
RATING: 1 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
It was some forty years ago that Paul Schrader wrote and directed the film American Gigolo which put Richard Gere into the stratosphere of stardom also making him the sex symbol of the moment. Now, the two have collaborated again in one of the worst films of 2024. It’s a film that will not revive either of their careers because it is a complete mess of a project. Even bringing in today’s big actor/sex object Jacob Elordi (Saltburn, Euphoria) does nothing to save the film. Let’s also throw in Uma Thurman and it becomes clear that someone thought this was a promising project and convinced some fine actors to be a part of it only to be left with an incomprehensible script that fails to add up to anything.
When we first meet Gere as Leo Fife he couldn’t be more the opposite of who Gere played in that 1980 film. Fife is looking scrawny and sickly. We find out later he is dying of cancer. He’s apparently been a successful college professor and documentary filmmaker in Canada. His wife Emma (Thurman) and former student Malcolm (Michael Imperioli) have decided to make a documentary about him. As they interview Fife, it appears that he has confused some of his memories with his films and fantasies. The film we view moves back and forth through time as Elordi, playing young Fife, is first in Richmond, Virginia planning to move to Vermont with his wife. He’s then offered a position in the business world which would require him to stay in town. There are also scenes of him even younger in which he is supposedly planning to go to Cuba. Cutting between these periods is confusing enough but Schrader makes it even more convoluted by having Gere also play Fife when he is younger. Why Elordi doesn’t play the younger Fife the entire time is unclear. Did Gere want more screen time? As such, the chronology and character depictions are all over the map.
What Schrader is trying to articulate is sadly very vague. There are references to draft dodging, as the scenes with young Fife take place between 1968 and 1970, but these don’t lead anywhere. Schrader may be trying to explore the effects of political filmmaking through Fife but we never really learn much about the kinds of films he was making. One could argue that Oh, Canada is about memory, cancer, suffering, capturing the truth on film, and/or becoming a Canadian citizen but none of these ideas are given any real depth or true exploration.
Gere is okay as Fife but he still comes across as a bit arrogant, a quality that may have forever hampered his chances of giving more truly great performances. Elordi is fine but isn’t really given enough to do to show off the range we saw in films such as Priscilla and Saltburn. Uma Thurman is as radiant as ever and has allowed herself to age with some very interesting qualities on her face. Schrader makes an odd choice though in also casting her in another role in which she interacts with young Fife. There doesn’t seem to be any logical explanation for this.
In the end, it is just not clear what Schrader is trying to say with this film. Perhaps there are some ideas buried here but even the reasoning for the character of Fife being interviewed remains a mystery. Neither he nor Schrader seem to have anything significant to say.
Oh, Canada is in limited theatrical release.