Oh, Canada

1/23/2025

It’s bad enough when a film disappoints and doesn’t live up to expectations. But what’s perhaps worse is when a picture not only fails to live up to expectations, but also validates the negative reputation that precedes it. Such is the case, regrettably, with the latest feature from filmmaker Paul Schrader, an embarrassingly bad production from an artist who has written and/or directed such masterful works as “First Reformed” (2017), “American Gigolo” (1980), “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters” (1985), “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988) and “Taxi Driver” (1976). This miserably unfocused slog struggles to tell the story of Leonard Fife (Richard Gere), a famous but terminally ill director who’s being interviewed for a made-for-TV biography discussing his legendary life and career as a rev