Richard Gere starred in Paul Schrader’s 1980 movie American Gigolo, which is recognized as one of the movies that put Gere on the map. Fast-forward 44 years, and the duo reteams for the film Oh, Canada. The film is based on Russell Banks’s 2021 novel Foregone, and this is the second book Shrader has adapted a movie into (after 1997’s Affliction). The film was part of the 2024 AFI Film Festival.
Oh, Canada AFI Fest Review
Oh, Canada follows the story of Leonard Fife, a terminally ill writer and filmmaker who has agreed to have a documentary crew film his final testament. Schrader is one of the most interesting filmmakers when it comes to exploring characters. He does it again with Oh, Canada by examining the past while we are facing death.
Years after he became one of sixty thousand draft evaders who fled to Canada, Leonard Fife is left contemplating how his legacy will reflect on those around him. In his final days, Fife attempts to uncover the dark truths of his past in a chance to come clean to his wife about his past transgressions. Schrader sits Fife in front of a single camera with the spotlight on him to unpack these memories that weave flashbacks of both Richard Gere and Jacob Elordi in his shoes.
Schrader shoots the past in a unique way that shows a young Fife, played by Elordi, and often weaves a much older Fife, played by Gere, within the same frame. It was almost as if the older version of Fife had cast a dreamy, good-looking actor to resemble his youth, and I loved that idea. You have Elordi with his devilishly good looks and charm, highlighting this almost playboy youth of Fife, while Gere represents the darker days of Fife.
Schrader shoots much of aging Fife with tight closeups to almost prepare us for the inevitable. Every wrinkle in his skin, every breath that was hard for him to take, and even the pain of the cancer taking over, it was painfully beautiful to watch. How Schrader chose to capture this aspect of his life brought a meaningful touch to the story.
There is a vulnerability factor that Gere exudes within this role that you have to appreciate. Gere, who has been doing this for forty years, is playing a man looking to unpack his legacy of lies, and Gere has to sell this as a cancer-ridden man on his deathbed. We’ve known Gere for years as a great actor, but this is by far his best performance in ages. The other side of Fife, Jacob Elordi, impressed the heck out of me. Elordi, who hasn’t won me over yet, does so by playing this overly dominant yet soft man navigating his way through his next hurdle. This is by far my favorite work of his yet.
Even with the movie’s dark tone, it flies right by. Schrader reunited with longtime editor Benjamin Rodriguez Jr. With Schrader playing mind tricks with the audiences about swapping Elordi and Gere out in different places of the story, Rodriquez’s crisp editing and Schrader’s camera work unpack them beautifully. In the year 2024, what is not to love about a movie’s runtime of an hour and thirty minutes? These two did a hell of a job of telling a story and piecing it together.
Is Oh, Canada worth watching?
Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada asks, “When you consistently run from the truth, at what point do you know what is true.” Schrader’s poignant and powerful look at one man’s legacy, blended with some of Richard Gere’s best work, makes this one of the year’s biggest surprises. For audiences, give Oh, Canada a chance, and be patient with Schrader’s storytelling as it pays off in the end.
Oh, Canada screened at the 2024 edition of AFI Fest, which runs October 23-27 in Los Angeles, CA. It hits theaters on December 6.
Oh, Canada AFI Fest Review — Paul Schrader’s Script is Extraordinary
Paul Schrader and Richard Gere reunite to make a thought provoking and captivating look at one mans self reflection on his life.
