First Reformed-2018
Director Paul Schrader
Starring Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried
Scott’s Review #870
Reviewed February 22, 2019
Grade: B+
First Reformed (2018) is a dark, independent film that has received a great deal of buzz for the raw and daring risks it takes and the brave performance by its star, Ethan Hawke.
Directed by the same man who wrote the screenplay for Taxi Driver (1976), Paul Schrader, the film is a character study of one man’s efforts for benevolence and normalcy after experiencing insurmountable tragedy. He wrestles with his demons and questions his faith in the church.
The film is a heavy, raw drama, and not for those looking for a feel-good experience.
Reverend Ernst Toller (Hawke) is an alcoholic, residing in bleak and barren upstate New York, presumably near Buffalo. He serves as a Protestant minister at a historically significant yet sparsely populated church.
Another, more modern congregation takes over the establishment with a large following. Ernst has recently been dealt a significant blow with the death of his son in the Iraq War after encouraging him to enlist.
When Mary (Amanda Seyfried), a young pregnant woman, asks Ernst to guide her radical and troubled husband, Ernst’s life spirals out of control.
Ernst is determined to keep a journal for precisely one year and then subsequently burn it. He chronicles his feelings, thoughts, and doubts as narrated by Hawke. Schrader, who directed and wrote First Reformed, succeeds at making the film feel personal and conflicted.
He creates a quiet experience, masked by underlying turmoil and even a suffocating existence. Ernst’s angry protege is an environmentalist determined to change the minister’s views and succeeds in pointing out life’s hypocrisy.
The season is winter, and the elements are cold and depressing in First Reformed. From the crisp air and the clutching small-town grasp, Schrader makes the audience feel stifled, so we relate to Ernst, even though we may not share his views or beliefs.
He is a kind man, helpful, and even-keeled, but wrestles with constant demons. Despite his role as a minister, what the film does well is resist carving a traditional tale of religious conflict or even questioning Ernst’s sexuality.
The film is set in a much darker context and doesn’t focus on a single theme.
Where Schrader loses me is with Ernst’s questionable actions, which sometimes come out of left field. The conclusion is both perplexing and unsatisfying.
As the character prepares for a desperate act of brutality, indeed a shock for the audience who has him figured out, he suddenly changes course due to the appearance of Mary. They embrace, and the film ends, but what are his intentions towards Mary? He is fond of her, but are his feelings pure friendship or something more emotional?
Sadly, we never find out, nor do we know, where he channels all of his feelings from.
Hawke’s dynamic portrayal of Ernst is never better. The supporting characters lack much appeal or interest. Mary is nice enough but is a tad clingy, and her numerous requests to talk or have Ernst come by to visit get tedious.
Seyfried does what she can with the role, but is the second banana.
Cedric the Entertainer as Pastor Joel Jeffers lacks appeal, and the dowdy character of Esther, meant to be a potential love interest for Ernst, is instead bothersome and portrayed as a pest.
First Reformed (2018) has shades of appeal, and the main character is well-substantiated and deep, but ultimately, the film does not come together as well as it might have.
The finale underwhelms, and after the significant buildup to the character’s changing thoughts and motivations, too much was left unclear. Schrader deserves props for attempting to create an edgy experience with a unique and daring character, but could have wrapped the film up in a tidier way.
This would have served the film better.
Oscar Nominations: Best Original Screenplay
Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best Feature, Best Director-Paul Schrader, Best Male Lead-Ethan Hawke (won), Best Screenplay