Cannes 2024: Even Jacob Elordi Can’t Save Lackluster Story in Oh, Canada
The Cannes Film Festival brought many suprises but also a few disappointments. Unfortunately, Paul Schrader’s adaptation of Russell Banks’ novel Forgone leaves viewers unimpressed and a bit bored after viewing Oh, Canada.
Paul Schrader is no stranger to Banks’ work. In 1997, he adapted Banks’ neo-noir crime drama Affliction into a film that was relatively well received. However, his newest endeavor will leave fans with a lackluster response. Starring one of Hollywood’s hottest young talents with Jacob Elordi, it seemed as though the film’s success was almost guaranteed. While each of the cast members give it their best effort, the story didn’t materialize on screen as expected.
Oh, Canada details the life of famous Candadian documentary filmmaker Leonard Fife (Richard Gere) as he recounts his life story in a final interview with one of his former students. As he attempts to make confessions about his past, it is hard to decipher what is real, and what is a figment of his now heavily medicated brain. Even his wife (Uma Thurman) has trouble understanding if his revelations are death bed confessions or drug-fueled delusions.
Richard Gere depicts the unsettling nature of a sickly man attempting to gain control over his situation with such agitation and honestly. His moments of vulnerability are cut off by anger and frustration, leaving both his wife (Uma Thurman) and the viewers at a loss for words. His portrayal forces viewers to empathize while also hesitating to believe any of his tales of the past.
Elordi plays the young version of Leonard Fife who seems to be a bit of a lost soul. He jumps from woman to woman, evading his problems, and possibly even his sexuality. These flashbacks offer up small anecdotes into Fife’s past, but no one knows the ultimate truth of these slices of life.
The dual timeline is intriguing at first, but looses its impact as flashbacks occur in a non-chronological order. The jumbled storyline is not only dizzying but boring as well. When the flashbacks offer nothing but a fable of a life once lived, the moments are not endearing to the viewer. While Oh, Canada poses an interesting retrospective look at life, it lacks excitement and soul.
