An exotic flower with gunshot holes behind it

Warm, bright synths drone on; birds chirp, gleefully; footage of blooming flowers rolls on. An idyllic, calming ambience. But what if the hands that planted those flowers were also stained with blood?

In Paul Schrader’s Master Gardener, Narvel Roth (played by Joel Edgerton) serves as the titular master gardener of the beautiful Gracewood Gardens. But he harbors dark, deadly secrets, a past of violence and hate. Narvel’s occupation – and the beauty of the gardens themselves – serve as a harsh juxtaposition for what Narvel was, and what still may linger within him.

Composer Devonté Hynes (aka Blood Orange) makes this duality a cornerstone of his score to Master Gardener. The bulk of his score channels the natural world, of lush plants and flowers, the birds and insects that swirl about them. These come in moments of bubbling synths, whose swirls and chirps create a mesmerizing faux environment. You walk along the Gracewood pathways, fingers grazing the vibrant blooms of exotic flowers.

But Hynes does not let this hypnosis linger undisturbed, with the flowers fading as quickly as they bloomed. Droning guitars and synth pipe organs buzz their way into this world, drawing out pangs of regret, of your own clouded nostalgia, a dual longing and fear of the past. It pulls us into Narvel’s headspace, where he longs to free himself of his ever-present past, but can only do so temporarily.

These persistent dark undercurrents foreshadow what’s to come by raising a question: will Narvel’s past finally disappear? As we move further into the film, his past works its way to the forefront and violent outbursts increasingly interrupt Hynes’s score. These lift the veil of serenity Hynes has created, answering that question. A series of powerful outbursts of crunchy, pummeling guitar and ominous synth reverberations serve as a final purge, both for Narvel and the score.

The ending song, “Space and Time” performed by Mereba (a cover of the S.G. Goodman song), is a wonderful bookend to the film and score. It bundles up the pain and regret, the chronic melancholy and loss, and adds a sense of optimism and bliss. The horrors of Narvel’s life will always endure, but perhaps things will truly improve. In this way, it feels like a foil to “(You Made it Feel Like) Home” from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score to Bones and All, whose sorrow felt final, one last cry for a beautiful nostalgia soon to be erased.

I also have to give credit to Paul Schrader. Despite being in his sixth decade of filmmaking, he’s still making obvious efforts to have exciting voices score his films. His last three films have had as composers Lustmord (First Reformed), Robert Levon Been (The Card Counter), and now Dev Hynes.