Decades after he began his career, experiencing all of the ups and downs, it’s clear that filmmaker Paul Schrader is seemingly doing some of the best work he’s ever done late in life. “First Reformed,” “The Card Counter,” and “Master Gardener” are all films that prove Schrader still has a distinct voice in the filmmaking community. And apparently, he is putting together the pieces for what could be his final film, “Oh, Canada.”
According to Paul Schrader’s recent Facebook post, the filmmaker has confirmed that he is starting rehearsals for his next film, “Oh, Canada,” which will star Richard Gere and Jacob Elordi. The film has been reported about for several months and is said to be based on the novel “Foregone” by author Russell Banks, a friend of Schrader. And in a New Yorker article from several months back, the filmmaker said he would like to make “one more” film, which would lead us to believe “Oh, Canada” is that movie.
READ MORE: Paul Schrader Calls ‘Oppenheimer’ The “Best, Most Important Film Of This Century”
And when you look at the plot of “Foregone,” knowing the physical struggles that have plagued Schrader in recent years, “Oh, Canada” does share interesting parallels. Here’s the synopsis of the novel:
At the center of Foregone is famed Canadian American leftist documentary filmmaker Leonard Fife, one of sixty thousand draft evaders and deserters who fled to Canada to avoid serving in Vietnam. Fife, now in his late seventies, is dying of cancer in Montreal and has agreed to a final interview in which he is determined to bare all his secrets at last, to demythologize his mythologized life. The interview is filmed by his acolyte and ex–star student, Malcolm MacLeod, in the presence of Fife’s wife and alongside Malcolm’s producer, cinematographer, and sound technician, all of whom have long admired Fife but who must now absorb the meaning of his astonishing, dark confession.
No official statements have been made about the roles that Elordi and Gere will have, but when you read the synopsis, you can put the pieces together. And with Gere, a legendary actor, teaming up with Elordi, one of the biggest up-and-coming stars, “Oh, Canada” will have quite a few people excited by the potential.
We’ll have to wait and see when production begins on “Oh, Canada” and when it will eventually land in theaters.
