“When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”
-Some guy in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Paul Schrader may never entirely escape the shadow that the Taxi Driver screenplay casts on the rest of his career despite his many other scripts and an upgrade to the director’s chair since then. Those familiar with his oeuvre will note that his work often depicts lonely, isolated men in the midst of an existential crisis of their own making. Hollywood exile Richard Gere and Australian new face Jacob Elordi share the role of Schrader’s latest troubled protagonist in Oh, Canada.
Adapted from the late Russell Banks’ 2021 novel Foregone, the film depicts the confessions of fictional Canadian documentary filmmaker Leonard Fife as he unravels the finely spun legends of his life before the lens of a CBC documentary crew. The whole affair is much to the chagrin of his current wife Emma (Uma Thurman), who is more concerned with Leo’s rapid deterioration from an aggressive form of cancer that has left him unable to walk and in need of 24-hour care.
His tale jumps through time in decidedly non-linear fashion as Leo struggles to recall key moments of his life: multiple families started and abandoned, his escape to Canada (ostensibly dodging the Vietnam war draft), and his award-winning documentary filmmaking career which by his own admission, began as a fluke.
As the interview drags on, truth and fiction seemingly blur, and Leo’s condition worsens, Emma repeatedly attempts to end the interview. But Leo and headstrong documentarian Malcolm (Michael Imperioli) are having none of it, determined to see this yarn render its final muddled tapestry and the latter isn’t above employing unethical means to achieve this.
Glum and a tad glib at times, Oh Canada raises intriguing questions about the myths we tell about ourselves and the legacies we choose to leave behind. What it fails to do is make any real lasting impact with these issues and leaves its audience more dejected than enlightened. Far too little time is spent on Leo’s career as a filmmaker and there’s not much to denote why he is such a legend beyond some mild hero worship and a trophy case full of Genie and Gemini awards.
Even the professionally polished performances from Gere, Elordi, and Thurman along with striking cinematography from Andrew Wonder fail to elevate Schrader’s film beyond a passing curiosity. There are echoes of Floran Zeller’s The Father in the way that Gere occasionally taps out Elordi to play some of Leo’s flashbacks and in the casting of actors like Thurman in multiple roles in both timelines. Solid presentation, but it’s merely capable showmanship in search of a worthier narrative.
Sure to disappoint those expecting a nuanced take on Vietnam draft dodging or at least a doc on our national anthem, Oh Canada best serves committed Schrader devotees and those curious if Richard Gere is still a thing. Perhaps best watched on a plane.
6/10
Oh, Canada screens daily at the VIFF Centre until Dec 21