Based on the 2021 novel Foregone by Russell Banks, Oh, Canada marks the second collaboration between director Paul Schrader and lead actor Richard Gere after 1997’s Affliction. The film follows the story of an aging filmmaker (played by Gere) telling the unfiltered story of his life for a documentary. Oh, Canada world premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival and also screened at the 38th AFI Fest.
In addition to Gere, the film stars Jacob Elordi, Uma Thurman, Victoria Hill, Michael Imperioli, Penelope Mitchell, and Kristine Froseth.
Release Date
Directed by Paul Schrader, Oh, Canada opens in select US theaters on December 5, 2024.
Synopsis
Aging filmmaker Leonard Fife (Richard Gere), still fiery despite his battle with illness, wants to tell his life story, unfiltered, before it’s too late. As the director of acclaimed documentary exposés, he has much to be proud of, but his Vietnam War draft-dodging and his past relationships harbor thorny truths. Leonard sits for an extended interview with his former student Malcolm (Michael Imperioli), relating candid stories about his younger self (Jacob Elordi) in the tumultuous 1960s and beyond. At Leonard’s insistence, his wife and indispensable artistic partner, Emma (Uma Thurman), bears witness to it all. His successes are held up against his failings and, as the man is cleansed of the myth, Leonard must confront what is left. Paul Schrader’s adaptation of Russell Banks’s novel sees him reunited with Gere more than 40 years after American Gigolo, and together they deliver a moving and deeply personal take on this story of an artist reflecting on a lifetime of storytelling.
Reviews
Brian Tallerico in a RogerEbert.com review praised the film, writing, “There’s much to like here, particularly in Gere’s vulnerable performance and just how openly Schrader is expressing what feels like his own concerns about aging, regret, and reputation.”
Justin Chang in a New Yorker review also praised the film, writing, “Schrader bravely forsakes the narrative fastidiousness of his recent work and takes on grand themes of memory, mortality, and artistic self-reckoning, to formally ragged but sincerely moving effect.”
Official Trailer
Watch the official trailer for Oh, Canada.