Hawke deals with past events that haunt his present day, whilst also battling morality and finding out the truth.
First Reformed on the surface may seem like a slow and plain story based in a town that has no real significance to the world, but in fact it is these intricacies that turns First Reformed into a powerful drama that deals with real world problems and the ignorance of certain people. A man of God who deals with his own spirituality, constantly battling with temptations and inner demons, building up to a possible apocalyptic ending that is the result of a desperate man coming to his wits end, unable to continue on the back seat. It is obvious that Schrader has been influenced by Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, a film that he wrote once upon time, but the difference is this time around the leading role is a good man that has just been pushed to the worlds end.
This film could be considered as being bleaker than Taxi Driver though, particularly a scene where we see the troubled priest travelling to the woods, going to the aid of an equally tormented man for him only to be greeted with despair and shock. This is something that was a surprise to him and us as the viewer, resulting in a somewhat unsettling and very unexpected moment, which is a contrast to the climactic scene in Taxi Driver.
The story is focused on Reverend Ernst Toller, an extremely self-critical man that is tormented by his past and the decisions that were made that affected all his loved ones and ultimately led to his unhappy solitude. Ethan Hawke churns out an emotional and heart wrenching performance as Toller that hasn’t been seen since his turn as the emotionally wrecked father in 2014’s Boyhood. Toller who has a military background is first seen writing long hand in his journal, attempting to create some structural purpose to his life, whilst also being completely committed to his life of the clergy. Themes of guilt accompany Toller’s character throughout the film, something that is highly relatable to the teachings the church has been built on for centuries.
A well-respected figure in the fictional town of Snowbridge, New York, Toller is given his own church, although it is known more as a tourist hot spot due to its rich history rather than a house of God. His inner demons consist of having to live with the decision to push his son towards a career in the military, resulting in his son, the adequately named Joseph being killed in Iraq, something that Toller has since come to see as a pointless and unnecessary war. His life is now surrounded by darkness, a furniture less apartment, writhing in pain due to the cancer that has taken over his body, resorting to nightly drinking sessions as his pain killer alternative, yet always fully committed to his only shining light, his congregational parish.
Preparations are being made for the First Reformed church’s 250th anniversary, all under the watchful eye of the much larger congregation, Abundant Life, ran by the Reverend Joel Jeffers, played excellently by comedian Cedric the Entertainer. It is almost a token gesture by Jeffers to let Toller oversee the First Reformed church because of his past difficulties. Jeffers is responsible for Toller’s pastoral care and it becomes a great concern when the rumours of his drinking circulate locally, coupled with his intense battle with stomach cancer, although Jeffers seems to be more interested in the church’s wellbeing instead of his colleagues. With Toller looking like he is all alone, he is able to find solace in his work and from the care of people in his parish namely the doting Mary, who is played by Amanda Seyfried.
It is Mary who reaches out to Toller, needing his advice in helping her husband, Michael (Phillip Ettinger) who is deeply depressed and very much a lost soul that has come to a major crossroad in his life. Michael has been heavily involved in environmental activism over recent years, even spending some time in jail as part of previous peaceful protests. Michael is very much against Mary’s pregnancy due to the state of the world and what that would do to a child’s upbringing. Is it morally right to bring another life into a world you despise, knowing full well it cannot get better? The interaction Toller has with Michael releases a new sense of justice about doing the right thing, something that is magnified by the involvement of the local oil company and how they sponsor his own precious church.
The film is shot by Alexander Dynan in such a subtle way, especially the scenes from inside Toller’s house, showing how darkness engulfs him and only being illuminated by a laptop screen or candle, often leaving the shot hanging longer than it should as a means of absorbing the atmospheric tension. The use of close ups that highlight the withered lines in Toller’s face gives a sense of unease, showing a man who has been to hell and barely crawled out the other side. What does elevate the film is the use of narrative voiceover, Toller’s inner thoughts offer him a chance to tell us how he really see’s the destructive world that he is involved in, in his mind he is not sworn to follow the conduct of a clergyman.
First Reformed is an excellent and well-rounded film that covers problems that are affecting the world as we know it. Although it does possess some flaws such as an indecisive ending that comes across as Schrader being unsure of what goal he was trying to achieve but it does show some maturity compared to his Taxi Driver days. But what has been offered to us is an achievement for solid film making and leaves an afterthought in your head upon its end.
Available to watch on Kanopy and rent from Amazon Prime now.
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