Not one of my favorite Paul Schrader films.

At a special screening of “Oh, Canada,” Paul Schrader was asked about how he views his movies as a former film critic. He said this: “I have an itch, a 50-year-old itch as a critic, and occasionally this itch gets so stronger, I have to scratch it. The critics are missing something really fascinating about this film. And I want to point it out that I’ve read about a half a dozen reviews, and no one has caught on to this particular aspect on it, so it give me a chance to play critic again.”

I’ve been appreciating how Schrader has been able to survive the new generation of films with “First Reformed,” “The Card Counter” (which made my Best of 2021 list), and “Master Gardener” being exceptional examples. But I failed to see his aspect with “Oh, Canada,” which has some fine performances and attractive filmmaking styles, but manages to go through the motions and leaves us uninterested.

Richard Gere reunites with Schrader from “American Gigolo” as Leo Fife, a terminally ill writer and filmmaker, who went to Canada to avoid being drafted. Two of his former students, Malcolm (Michael Imperioli) and Diana (Victoria Hill), are documentary filmmakers who interview him about his life. He agreed to do so, as long as his current wife Emma (Uma Thurman) is by his side, although throughout the movie, he wonders why he agreed to do it in the first place.

The character is presented as a coward who has previous spouses, one of whom has a son named Cornel (Zach Shaffer). As an optimistic character, he doesn’t get the proper reunion he hoped for when he visits Leo at a film festival. In fact, the old man tells him: “I have no son. Stay away from me.” At least the young man gets to have lunch with Emma, who may or may not agree to stay in touch with him.

In his youth, Leo is played by Jacob Eldori, who is much taller than Gere is (Eldori at 6’5 and Gere at 5’10). Sometimes, his scenes are filmed in black and white, and sometimes, Gere takes his place, like in one scene when he’s in bed with his first wife Alicia (Kristine Froseth). Trying to ignore the height difference, their performances of Leo are charming with their dispositions hiding the character’s cowardliness.

Based on Richard Banks’ novel “Foregone,” Schrader intends to adapt the story in his own aspect, and “Oh, Canada” may be considered a passion piece of his. And with Gere and Eldori’s performances, the music by Phosphorescent, and the cinematography by Andrew Walker, it could be. But the story doesn’t go anywhere, and the supporting characters are basically going through the same motions. It’s difficult to read these characters and the complaints are repetitive.

My reactions towards “Oh, Canada” has nothing to do with the film’s low budget (that would be Robert De Niro’s, as he turned down the Gere role). My reaction has to do with the aspects that Schrader saw and I didn’t. I’ve already mentioned how he’s a brilliant and fearless filmmaker and screenwriter, and how he used to be a film critic. But not every film of his is a classic. And I know this is an obvious statement, but: “everyone’s a critic.”

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