“This is my last prayer and, whether you believe in God or not, you don’t lie when you pray.”
Paul Schrader makes films about people searching for redemption. That means starting with a world of darkness, hoping for some light, which is not always promised. The people involved are often those who have many sins and deeds that need to be accounted for. In Oh, Canada, that search is amplified by placing it in the near proximity of death.
Leonard Fife (Richard Gere) made a name for himself as a documentary filmmaker in Canada after having moved to that country as a draft refugee in the 1960s. Now in the final stage of life, he has agreed to be interviewed by Malcolm MacLeod (Michael Imperioli), a former student who is now an acclaimed filmmaker. As soon as Malcolm begins to ask a question, Leonard hijacks the interview to tell the story his own way. He is speaking not so much to Malcolm or the camera as he is to his wife, Emma (Uma Thurman).
He begins his story on March 30, 1968. Leonard (played as a young man by Jacob Elordi) and his then wife are expecting a child. He is preparing for a trip to Vermont where he plans to buy a house for them near a college where he will be teaching as he works to write the Great American Novel. Her family offers him a role in the family company, but he isn’t really interested. He heads off, but will never return to that life.
The story moves back and forth between the present-day interview and Leonard’s recounting of his life. The film uses different color palettes and aspect ratios for each period. There are also times when the two actors playing Leonard swap time periods, reminding us that they are the same person—and it is a single life.
From time to time, Malcolm will try to get control back, but Leonard is clearly in charge. Along the way, we see that Leonard clearly views Malcolm with disdain.
Leonard is trying to bring a kind of closure to his life through connecting with Emma. He calls it giving testimony and tells her “Some of this I’ve never even told myself.” It is a spiritual confession. It recognizes that his life has been filled with decisions, some good, some not. His life was built on many lies and betrayals.
The fact that Leonard was among the many young men who left the US during the Vietnam war, is really part of the background to the story. In fact, we see that he really uses that as an excuse to escape a life he is coming to fear—fatherhood, conformity, the mundane.
His life journey that we see unfold, is one that has caused great pain, which he sometimes only makes worse through his lack of compassion for others. This is confession, but it never really moves to seeking forgiveness. Instead, he is merely owning his flawed life. But perhaps this final “prayer” will offer some sort of redemption of his memory.
The film is based on the novel Foregone by Russell Banks, a friend of Schrader for many years. (The film’s title is the original title that Banks wanted for the book.) When Schrader learned that Banks was seriously ill, he felt the need to deal with the idea of death. Mortality weighs heavily in this film, especially in the scenes with Richard Gere as the dying Leonard. But it is also always in the background as he recounts his earlier life. All that has lead to the present day and situation.
Watching the film, I was reminded to the work of Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, who viewed death as (in the title of one of her books) “The Final Stage of Growth.” I perceived that this testimony and confession by Leonard is his attempt that that final stage. Whether he grows into a better person in the process is left for the viewer to discern.
Oh, Canada arrives in theaters on December 6th, 2024.
Photos courtesy of Kino Lorber.
