Can God forgive us?
Writer/director Paul Schrader asks a number of unanswerable questions over the course of First Reformed, his masterful and devastating new film, but the above query is the most essential of all. It's so central to the film that Ethan Hawke's Ernst Toller, a priest undergoing an existential crisis of monumental proportions, even plasters it on the marquee of his tiny church. First Reformed is difficult and dense in many respects, but Schrader is not trying to hide what this film is about. This is a portrait of a world in crisis, a snapshot of a pained man's deteriorating mental state, and an examination of what this devastation could mean for the spiritual realm. When critics and film scholars look back at the defining films of this fractured era, I have no doubt that First Reformed will place near the top of the list.
For many, this will sound like 2018: The Movie, but Schrader is too smart to ever make it feel too obvious or too overtly current. First and foremost, the iconic writer of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull has made a gloomy and relentlessly bleak character study, capturing the internal and external collapse of Reverend Toller, a man of God who isn't as steadfast in his beliefs as one would think. Toller is the pastor of First Reformed Church, a tiny congregation in upstate New York that mainly exists as a tourist destination. In a matter of weeks, the church is set to celebrate its 250th anniversary, an event that is being planned in coordination with the nearby parish of Abundant Life. Run by Joel Jeffers (Cedric Kyles), Abundant Life is a massive organization, bolstered by the charisma of its pastor and a plethora of political and business connections.
As this celebration reaches the planning stages, Toller's life dips into chaos. He's something of an alcoholic, pouring himself a drink (or several) at the end of every evening. He's also suffering from a number of physical ailments, which could indicate a serious illness growing inside him. But nothing shakes Toller quite like his time with Michael (Philip Ettinger), an environmental radical who believes the planet will collapse in a matter of decades. Michael's wife, Mary (Amanda Seyfried), is deeply worried about him, but there's only so much Toller can do to help. Instead, Michael ends up convincing Toller of these Earth-bound woes, sending the reverend on a journey of dark reflection and spiritual anguish. As his physical and otherworldly pain intensifies, Toller returns to that central question: can God forgive us for what we've done this world?
First Reformed takes place in a world that is already dead. Set in the darkest days of a New York winter, Schrader's film portrays a place where the spark of life has already left for good. The leaves have fallen and the trees are all dead; there isn't a splash of green or even orange to be found. The overwhelming presence of white dullness in the color palette spreads from the omnipresent snow to the creaky pews of Toller's church, blanketing the film in a distinct and unmistakable hue of emptiness. And then there are the moments where a finely tuned contrast emerges, eye-catching blends of purity and darkness. Pay close attention to the touch of white on Toller's collar mixed with the shadows of the rest of his outfit, or the pristine sanctity of the church mixed with the ominous clouds that lurk above.
Beyond the setting and certain location logistics, the film's environmental concerns make the rationale for the limited color wheel very obvious. Color would mean that God's creation is still alive and well, which is simply not true in Schrader's mind. First Reformed takes place in empty churches and devastated forests, with the occasional visit to a Superfund site to remind people of just how dire things have become. We are far removed from the glory of what used to exist here. This aesthetic consistency allows Schrader and cinematographer Alexander Dynan to play with shadows and experiment with measured filmmaking, keeping the camera still and focused even during moments of shocking, shattering intensity.
Above all else, this is a phenomenal film about pollution. And this isn't just pollution in the traditional sense of the word- corruption and corrosion take many forms here. Of course, there is pollution of the most obvious kind, the garbage and filth that has destroyed this world and created a rotting hole that cannot be fixed. But there's also pollution that is slowly killing Reverend Toller, eating away at his body and gnawing at his soul in the process. Then there's pollution of the church, the one establishment that should be sacred and holy in the face of political and monetary pressures. Just look at the sharp difference between First Reformed, a modest, simple chapel, and Abundant Life, the personification of everything wrong with religion in the modern world. There's even pollution in Toller's whisky glass, which manifests when he pours Pepto into his evening drink, watching it puddle like a miniature oil spill.
At the core of it all is Ethan Hawke, who is mesmerizing as a man who could break down entirely at any moment. Already one of the finest actors of his generation, Hawke digs into perhaps his greatest role yet, finding a character who is both easily sympathetic and brilliantly unpredictable. The Taxi Driver similarities are not evident initially, but as Schrader and Hawke dig into the depths of this story, the filmmaker's previous masterwork becomes a perfect comparison point. First Reformed offers the viewer a stunning look into Toller's mind, with Hawke's soft-spoken drawl slowly bringing us closer to the gentle reverend's violent mindset. His frenzied thoughts and nightmarish worldview slowly engulf you in a horrible world, and it's a genuinely terrifying pleasure to watch Hawke unravel.
And if you've watched the news in 2018, you just might even relate to Toller's struggle. Okay, so hopefully nobody watching this movie is inspired to take extreme action like the tortured reverend is. But the feelings of desperation and hopelessness are brutally relevant in this day and age, painfully obvious for anyone who has found themselves in disbelief while watching the news or scrolling the internet. These questions of spiritual duty and existential despair are all too real, and Schrader finds this raw nerve and shreds it beyond repair. This film is haunting and grueling, and it will consume your thoughts and fill you with dread.
But in the end, we return to that core question: can God forgive us? I know Schrader has revealed his thoughts on the matter in numerous interviews (I've held off on reading most of them until I finished writing this), but the film remains purposefully vague. These challenging questions serve mainly as a philosophical supplement to Toller's personal journey, a showcase for Ethan Hawke that culminates in a disturbing, breathtaking sequence. First Reformed's finale is both hypnotic and confounding, destined to frustrate and provoke audiences looking for something truly concrete. However, as Schrader delved into the surreal and the spiritual, I found myself even more entranced. First Reformed is an undeniably weighty experience, and it's sure to puzzle and anger viewers as often as it thrills them. But for those willing to take this plunge into absolute darkness, Schrader's painful look at the ills of the modern world is almost unfathomably powerful.
THE FINAL GRADE: A (9.4/10)
Images courtesy of A24
Writer/director Paul Schrader asks a number of unanswerable questions over the course of First Reformed, his masterful and devastating new film, but the above query is the most essential of all. It's so central to the film that Ethan Hawke's Ernst Toller, a priest undergoing an existential crisis of monumental proportions, even plasters it on the marquee of his tiny church. First Reformed is difficult and dense in many respects, but Schrader is not trying to hide what this film is about. This is a portrait of a world in crisis, a snapshot of a pained man's deteriorating mental state, and an examination of what this devastation could mean for the spiritual realm. When critics and film scholars look back at the defining films of this fractured era, I have no doubt that First Reformed will place near the top of the list.
For many, this will sound like 2018: The Movie, but Schrader is too smart to ever make it feel too obvious or too overtly current. First and foremost, the iconic writer of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull has made a gloomy and relentlessly bleak character study, capturing the internal and external collapse of Reverend Toller, a man of God who isn't as steadfast in his beliefs as one would think. Toller is the pastor of First Reformed Church, a tiny congregation in upstate New York that mainly exists as a tourist destination. In a matter of weeks, the church is set to celebrate its 250th anniversary, an event that is being planned in coordination with the nearby parish of Abundant Life. Run by Joel Jeffers (Cedric Kyles), Abundant Life is a massive organization, bolstered by the charisma of its pastor and a plethora of political and business connections.
As this celebration reaches the planning stages, Toller's life dips into chaos. He's something of an alcoholic, pouring himself a drink (or several) at the end of every evening. He's also suffering from a number of physical ailments, which could indicate a serious illness growing inside him. But nothing shakes Toller quite like his time with Michael (Philip Ettinger), an environmental radical who believes the planet will collapse in a matter of decades. Michael's wife, Mary (Amanda Seyfried), is deeply worried about him, but there's only so much Toller can do to help. Instead, Michael ends up convincing Toller of these Earth-bound woes, sending the reverend on a journey of dark reflection and spiritual anguish. As his physical and otherworldly pain intensifies, Toller returns to that central question: can God forgive us for what we've done this world?
First Reformed takes place in a world that is already dead. Set in the darkest days of a New York winter, Schrader's film portrays a place where the spark of life has already left for good. The leaves have fallen and the trees are all dead; there isn't a splash of green or even orange to be found. The overwhelming presence of white dullness in the color palette spreads from the omnipresent snow to the creaky pews of Toller's church, blanketing the film in a distinct and unmistakable hue of emptiness. And then there are the moments where a finely tuned contrast emerges, eye-catching blends of purity and darkness. Pay close attention to the touch of white on Toller's collar mixed with the shadows of the rest of his outfit, or the pristine sanctity of the church mixed with the ominous clouds that lurk above.
Beyond the setting and certain location logistics, the film's environmental concerns make the rationale for the limited color wheel very obvious. Color would mean that God's creation is still alive and well, which is simply not true in Schrader's mind. First Reformed takes place in empty churches and devastated forests, with the occasional visit to a Superfund site to remind people of just how dire things have become. We are far removed from the glory of what used to exist here. This aesthetic consistency allows Schrader and cinematographer Alexander Dynan to play with shadows and experiment with measured filmmaking, keeping the camera still and focused even during moments of shocking, shattering intensity.
Above all else, this is a phenomenal film about pollution. And this isn't just pollution in the traditional sense of the word- corruption and corrosion take many forms here. Of course, there is pollution of the most obvious kind, the garbage and filth that has destroyed this world and created a rotting hole that cannot be fixed. But there's also pollution that is slowly killing Reverend Toller, eating away at his body and gnawing at his soul in the process. Then there's pollution of the church, the one establishment that should be sacred and holy in the face of political and monetary pressures. Just look at the sharp difference between First Reformed, a modest, simple chapel, and Abundant Life, the personification of everything wrong with religion in the modern world. There's even pollution in Toller's whisky glass, which manifests when he pours Pepto into his evening drink, watching it puddle like a miniature oil spill.
At the core of it all is Ethan Hawke, who is mesmerizing as a man who could break down entirely at any moment. Already one of the finest actors of his generation, Hawke digs into perhaps his greatest role yet, finding a character who is both easily sympathetic and brilliantly unpredictable. The Taxi Driver similarities are not evident initially, but as Schrader and Hawke dig into the depths of this story, the filmmaker's previous masterwork becomes a perfect comparison point. First Reformed offers the viewer a stunning look into Toller's mind, with Hawke's soft-spoken drawl slowly bringing us closer to the gentle reverend's violent mindset. His frenzied thoughts and nightmarish worldview slowly engulf you in a horrible world, and it's a genuinely terrifying pleasure to watch Hawke unravel.
And if you've watched the news in 2018, you just might even relate to Toller's struggle. Okay, so hopefully nobody watching this movie is inspired to take extreme action like the tortured reverend is. But the feelings of desperation and hopelessness are brutally relevant in this day and age, painfully obvious for anyone who has found themselves in disbelief while watching the news or scrolling the internet. These questions of spiritual duty and existential despair are all too real, and Schrader finds this raw nerve and shreds it beyond repair. This film is haunting and grueling, and it will consume your thoughts and fill you with dread.
But in the end, we return to that core question: can God forgive us? I know Schrader has revealed his thoughts on the matter in numerous interviews (I've held off on reading most of them until I finished writing this), but the film remains purposefully vague. These challenging questions serve mainly as a philosophical supplement to Toller's personal journey, a showcase for Ethan Hawke that culminates in a disturbing, breathtaking sequence. First Reformed's finale is both hypnotic and confounding, destined to frustrate and provoke audiences looking for something truly concrete. However, as Schrader delved into the surreal and the spiritual, I found myself even more entranced. First Reformed is an undeniably weighty experience, and it's sure to puzzle and anger viewers as often as it thrills them. But for those willing to take this plunge into absolute darkness, Schrader's painful look at the ills of the modern world is almost unfathomably powerful.
THE FINAL GRADE: A (9.4/10)
Images courtesy of A24
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