Oh, Canada

A bittersweet rumination on an artist and his art, Oh Canada doubles as an elegy for a man rendered most vulnerable when confronting his life and legacy.

The latest introspective character study from director Paul Schrader (First Reformed) revisits some familiar themes as well as some erstwhile collaborators, such as actor Richard Gere and author Russell Banks (Affliction).

It’s a story of decisions and consequences impulses and ambitions — and how they sometimes take our lives in unexpected directions. But for its protagonist, the film is really more of a defiant deathbed confessional from a broken soul burdened by guilt and regret regarding dreams, relationships, and his work.

Gere plays Leo, a famed documentary filmmaker best known for pioneering an interview technique resembling that of real-life documentarian Errol Morris.

Diagnosed with terminal cancer and living out his final days at home in Montreal, he’s convinced by a former student (Michael Imperioli) to be interviewed himself for a “protégé’s homage.”

Both abrasive and contemplative, Leo (played by Jacob Elordi as a younger man) flashes back to episodes with past wives, girlfriends, and estranged children. Spurning his family’s pharmaceutical business for creative pursuits, he eventually fled to Canada during the 1960s after dodging the draft.

Observing intently, his wife, Emma (Uma Thurman) — also an ex-student — becomes uncomfortable, accusing Leo of spouting fantasies and fabrications, and she might have a point.

She urges him to take a break from the hot lights and incessant questioning, but Leo refuses. “This is a gift to you, my love,” he insists. “You don’t even know me.”

As Leo’s memories become fuzzier, the film elicits a chilly discomfort. Gere’s understated performance examines the clash between unfulfilled creative inspirations and external realities.

Schrader’s deliberately paced and fragmented screenplay gives us a rundown of Leo’s biographical highlights and accomplishments yet keeps him at a frustrating emotional distance.

Besides its jarring shifts in points of view, use of multiple narrators, and toggling among aspect ratios and color schemes, the film awkwardly throws Gere into flashback sequences at incongruous intervals. The surreal detours can be somewhat baffling.

Despite esteemed talent on both sides of the camera, Oh Canada might resonate on a personal level yet overall winds up more pretentious than profound.

Not rated, 94 minutes.