Given that he’s experienced his own health problems over the last few years, it would seem Paul Schrader is a man reflecting on his own mortality if Oh, Canada is anything to go by, the filmmaker’s fourth effort in almost as many years.
Reuniting with his own American Gigolo, Richard Gere, Oh, Canada centres around dying documentarian Leonard Fife (Gere, one of the actor’s finest turns) and his decision to untangle the decades-old web he has weaved over the course of his supposed lauded career. Essentially on his deathbed, wearing a diaper, consistently monitored by nurses, and unable to necessarily make sense of his surroundings, his wife, Emma (Uma Thurman), isn’t keen on the idea that directors Malcom (Michael Imperioli) and Diana (Victoria Hill) interview him in such a state, but they have Leonard’s blessing, believing that their own documentary will celebrate his awarded career.
Leonard has other ideas though, intending to use the documentary – or, at least, the cameras present – as a means to confess his sins, first stating that he had seduced Diana as a student many years ago, before detailing how he escaped to Cuba as a 20-something (Jacob Elordi plays the younger Leo) to protest the Vietnam draft, how he left a string of women behind in his wake, and that his writings have been largely embellished.
Emma blames such confessions on his cocktail of drugs and a muddled memory, but Leonard seems more clear than ever on his life of question, directly addressing the camera, speaking to Emma, much to the annoyance of Malcolm, whose film has now become something more than ever intended. They aren’t even sure if they want to keep filming, but Leonard can’t contain his history any longer, with the film playing loosely with time periods and actors inhabiting more than one role across the multiple years.
To say Oh, Canada isn’t a coherent film would be an understatement, but perhaps in the film’s perceived messiness is the intention of expressing Leonard’s fractured mind. There’s a beautiful, raw performance at its core from Gere, and the level of professional reflection his character is afforded could be something of a meta inclusion on Schrader’s behalf, but because it feels as personal as it does, it runs the risk of alienating many viewers who aren’t quite prepared for its restless, philosophical nature; though, if you’re entering a Paul Schrader film with the belief that his stories will entertain and flow in the most common sense, you’re either wildly adverse to his manners or foolishly naive, perhaps both.
Whilst Oh, Canada as a whole is a bit of a smudged affair, it can’t be denied that it’s fascinating all the same. Much like Schrader’s last few films that have focused heavily on male characters and their grappling with their own maturity and mistakes, Leonard’s self-reflection speaks to a particular archetype, and within that is, undoubtedly, a wealth of conversation.
THREE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Oh, Canada is screening in Australian theatres from March 27th, 2025.
