I became intrigued when I saw First Reformed (2018), starring Ethan Hawke, appearing on many lists of the best movies of the year. The movie rightfully belongs on such lists. Fifty years from now when someone wonders what it was like to live during our current decade, one would do well to advise them to watch First Reformed.
The movie says nothing about our current president. But it says a lot about the angst of our modern age. During a time when our historic foundations have been shattered, for good or for ill, we face a world with new anxieties, uncertain about our future, overwhelmed to inaction.
First Reformed tells the story of a priest played by Ethan Hawke in one of his best performances. The priest serves at a small historic church in upstate New York that is attended by few people. The small church, though, is connected to a more popular mega-church. The priest considers what humans are doing to the environment, even as his own body is failing. He contemplates the meaning of faith and the responsibilities of good people in a world coming apart.
Part of the crisis of faith arises when a parishioner played by Amanda Seyfried approaches the priest and asks him to counsel her husband. Her husband is involved with environmental activists. Her husband faces an existential crisis, wondering how he and his pregnant wife can bring a child into such a horrible world.
The exchange between the husband and the priest is one of the best philosophical discussions on screen in awhile. And the scene sets up many of the questions the priest struggles with throughout the film.
The acting is powerful. In addition to Hawke’s wonderful performance, Amanda Seyfried and Cedric the Entertainer (Cedric Kyles), among others, do a great job in supporting roles. Kyles brings nuance to a character in charge of the mega-church. Such a character might otherwise have been a caricature. And Seyfried provides a strong grounded balance to the men coming unhinged in the face of existential dread.
I will not give away more about the plot. But I will warn viewers that the movie does contain two surreal scenes that may have you scratching your head. This film is directed and written by Paul Schrader, who also wrote such films as Taxi Driver (1976) and Raging Bull (1980). So he knows how to push his viewers to confront bleak and uncomfortable issues in a beautiful way. The movie is challenging, which may account for the high critics score on Rotten Tomatoes (93%) and mediocre audience score (69%).
And, while the ending may puzzle you for awhile, some contemplation may make you appreciate the whole film even more. It did for me.
First Reformed is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime.
What did you think of First Reformed? Leave your two cents in the comments.
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