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The Gardener
Movie

The Gardener

2025 • Unknown

Woke Score
3
out of 10

Plot

Every year the Prime Minister has a list of all kinds of troublemakers eliminated in the name of the famous Reason of State. Serge Shuster, Special Adviser to the President of the Republic, finds himself on this list, better known as the Matignon List. Condemned to certain death and at the heart of an implacable plot and a state secret that also put his family in danger, Serge, his wife and children have only one hope left - their gardener, Léo, who hates it when « slugs » invade his garden... Especially those that want to kill innocent families.

Overall Series Review

The Gardener (Le Jardinier) is a French action-comedy centered on Jean-Claude Van Damme's character, Léo, a highly competent, mysterious gardener forced to protect the Shuster family from an assassination squad. The assassination plot is sanctioned by the state, indicating a fundamentally corrupt political system, which Léo works to dismantle. The movie's core conflict is a battle for the preservation of a traditional family unit against state-sponsored violence. The film features two main male archetypes: the heroic, hyper-competent man of action (Léo) and the self-absorbed, bumbling politician (Serge Shuster). The narrative does not focus on social-justice commentary, intersectionality, or identity politics. Its moral focus is on the protective strength of the hero and the value of innocent life and family, making it an action film with traditional themes.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics3/10

The main hero, Léo, is a competent white male, reinforcing meritocracy. The only vilification of a white male is directed at Serge Shuster, who is portrayed as an incompetent, pompous, and self-absorbed politician. Incompetence is tied to his character as a corrupt official, not his race. Diversity in the supporting cast reflects modern French cinema and does not appear tied to any intersectional hierarchy.

Oikophobia5/10

The plot features the highest levels of the French government (The Prime Minister and the Matignon List) attempting to assassinate a family, which frames the current political institution as fundamentally corrupt. This indicates a critique of the state and its political power. However, the fight is not against the nation's heritage or ancestors, but against the present-day political elite, and the family unit is respected as something worth saving.

Feminism2/10

The female lead, Mia Shuster, is a wife and mother of a newborn, with the family unit being the object of the heroic protection. She is described as 'shrewish,' a trope, but she is not an instantly perfect 'Girl Boss' figure. The primary action is performed by a highly competent male protector, Léo, with the narrative celebrating the protection of the traditional nuclear family.

LGBTQ+1/10

The narrative centers entirely on the survival of a normative, traditional male-female pairing and their children. No elements of sexual identity, alternative sexualities, or gender ideology are mentioned in the core conflict or themes of the film.

Anti-Theism2/10

The conflict is secular and political, focusing on corruption and assassination by the state in the name of the 'Reason of State'. There is no hostility directed toward traditional religion. The hero operates under a clear, selfless, and transcendent moral law: the defense of innocent life and family against 'slugs' who try to kill them.