Paul Schrader is known for not mincing his words. This ultimately led to him being regarded as persona non grata in the film industry for years, regularly having control over the final parts of his films taken away. Schrader had a significant influence on New Hollywood cinema with his scripts for ‘Taxi Driver’ and ‘Like a Raging Bull’, and went on to direct his own films with ‘Blue Collar’, ‘Hardcore’, ‘A Man for Certain Hours’ . ”. or “cat people” to cause a stir.
In the meantime, however, Paul Schrader has been able to rehabilitate himself and polish his reputation. With ‘First Reformed’, for which he even received an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay in 2019, ‘The Card Counter’, which the author of these lines considers the best film of 2022, or most recently the thriller drama ‘Master Gardener’ ‘ Schrader was able to reminding that he not only has a difficult personality, but is also an excellent filmmaker. But his Facebook posts about films and series by others also continue to cause a stir. Also the critically acclaimed HBO series “The last of us“caught it…
Paul Schrader distributes
In the accompanying Facebook post, Paul Schrader revealed his first contact with the video game adaptation “The Last Of Us”. And as the filmmaker makes clear, it wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience: “‘You have to see this,’ said a friend. ‘But,’ I replied, ‘it’s a zombie show.’ “Yes,” they replied, “but it’s really good!” So I watched it. Sure enough, 35 minutes into the first episodes there were zombies staggering down the street. So I switched off. “But you should watch episode 3,” my friend replied. So I did it. It was a super cheesy euthanasia melodrama about two gays (at least there were no undead). What am I missing?”
Anyone who follows Paul Schrader on Facebook knows that the man can deliver some pretty merciless blows when he doesn’t particularly like something. On the other hand, he can also write with euphoria about films and series that have touched his heart. In the case of ‘The Last Of Us’, Schrader – unlike the majority – seems to be completely impressed. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that some degree of polemic will be involved. Especially since ‘The Last Of Us’ is almost universally celebrated and episode 3 is considered one of the best series episodes of the year for many viewers.
The special thing about the third episode ‘The Last Of Us’ is that it describes the coexistence of two men who surprisingly come together during the zombie apocalypse and discover their love in the process. The characters also existed in the original video game, but the series not only develops their personalities, but also gives them a completely new story that – if you’re not Paul Schrader – is quite moving. Not least because it stands out from the overall picture of the actual plot, but still gives it a new facet without seeming cumbersome.