“First Reformed”– Movie Review

This week, I attended a sneak preview of the new drama written and directed by Paul Schrader, “First Reformed”, starring Ethan Hawke and Amanda Seyfried.

Synopsis

When a member of a pastor’s congregation dies, will he take up the man’s cause or choose to end his own life?

Story

Rev. Toller (Hawke) is the pastor of The First Reformed Church in upstate New York.  Currently, he’s busy making plans and scheduling much-needed repairs prior to the celebration of the church’s 250th anniversary despite the fact that he’s having worsening health problems.  It is at this time when he’s approached by Mary (Seyfried), who is concerned about her husband, Michael – an environmentalist who was recently released from jail after a protest. He’s been depressed and wants Mary to abort their baby; Mary hopes that Toller can counsel him.

Unfortunately, Michael is too far gone and he ends up committing suicide.  Toller now sees his duty to see after Mary during this difficult time; in the course of doing so, he starts reading through Michael’s old research and begins to get involved in the ecological movement.  Over time, Toller’s health starts impacting his ability to serve his congregation so he finally decides to see a doctor and have some tests performed. The tests reveal that Toller may be seriously ill and the doctor recommends more specialized investigation to determine exactly whether or not he has some form of cancer.

As the anniversary draws near, Toller believes his job may be in jeopardy.  His town’s church is overseen by the pastor of a county mega-church, which is itself funded by a local corporation that is a known polluter of the environment.  When the company’s CEO is alarmed by what he sees as Toller’s ecological activism, his ability to lead the church comes into question. Since the anniversary is going to be a major event attended by the governor and the mayor, as well as the CEO, it will get significant press coverage.  With this in mind, Toller believes he can use this opportunity to speak out about how the corporation is defiling the area’s environment. But considering his health, Toller is forced to make a choice: should he make a public statement about the company’s pollution and possibly lose his job or should he simply kill himself rather than wait for the cancer to take him?     

Review

More than 40 years after the classic “Taxi Driver”, Paul Schrader is still obsessed with writing about Travis Bickle.  This time, however, the movie is “First Reformed”, Bickle is named Toller and instead of being a cabbie he’s a preacher.  But basically, he’s the same guy.  Both Bickle and Toller are, in their own peculiar but unique way, trying to seek some sort of redemption – and doing so in the most violent way imaginable.  Another similarity these characters share is the fact that neither one of them is exactly the most mentally stable individual you’ve ever met. 

While Toller as a protagonist starts out as a sympathetic character, he takes one dark turn after another as the story progresses and dares you to like him by the end.  Make no mistake, this is an odd movie that takes some weird twists – which can either be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on whether or not you’re enjoying the unusual and unnerving experience that is this film. Whether you are fascinated by the manner in which Toller is questioning his religious faith or are more attuned to the ecological aspects of  this motion picture, “First Reformed” will have something for you – but it defies you to find this story accessible.

Following the screening, there was an interview with Schrader, Hawke and Cedric The Entertainer, who plays the pastor at the mega-church.  Hawke said that he described “First Reformed” to a friend of his as an Ingmar Bergman-like movie. After the friend caught a screening of the film, he told Hawke, “It’s more like if Bergman listened to The Ramones”.  Schrader characterized his movie as “passive aggressive” and said that he loves stories that contain spirituality up against politics. Cedric said that some of his acquaintances are preachers at mega-churches, so he based his character on some of them.