First Reformed
“First Reformed” is the first time I’ve seen a Paul Schrader film in a while (since 2002’s “Auto Focus”), and even if I had seen some of the films he’s done since then, I’ve heard it’s probably STILL the last one where his personal signature is on it. I’m much more familiar with his collaborations with Scorsese than his own directorial efforts, but “First Reformed” definitely feels in keeping with the themes he hit upon with Scorsese in films such as “Bringing Out the Dead,” “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “Taxi Driver.” An hour after I got out of the theatre, and I’m still unsure how I would rate it with those films, however.
In Schrader’s new film, Ethan Hawke plays Reverend Toller, who is the minister at the First Reformed church in New York, which is about to celebrate 250 years with a re-dedication ceremony. The attendance is not that high at First Reformed, partially because of a megachurch down the road run by the charismatic pastor (Cedric Kyles, aka Cedric the Entertainer) who has stepped up to help Toller’s church financially, as well as get ready for the re-dedication. One day after service, a young wife (Amanda Seyfried) comes to Toller, and wants him to talk to her husband, Michael (Philip Ettinger), a radical environmentalist. The couple is pregnant, but the Michael wants to terminate the pregnancy, and Mary (Seyfried’s character) wants Toller to talk him out of such a painful choice.
Schrader’s views on faith and religion have always been a big part of his work, with one of his other directorial efforts I’ve seen (1997’s “Touch”) being an example. Here, Toller’s discussion with Michael, and his reasons for wanting to end their pregnancy, leads him down a path of challenging his faith and what he believes of the world in a way that he hasn’t experienced since, when he was a military chaplain, his son died in the war in Iraq. The film is very much modeled on the films of Bergman (especially his “Silence of God” trilogy) and Tarkovsky (with “The Sacrifice” being the big influence), but also with a satirical bite that did remind me of “Touch” (what I remember of it), as well as “Saved!,” in how it views different forms of religious belief, and practice, in the comparisons between First Reformed and Toller and Cedric’s megachurch, although when it comes to the larger ideas at work in the film, neither comes out ahead of the other. The larger picture of the film is not simply about the value of a smaller, more personal religious experience vs. the more energized message a megachurch offers with its greater resources- that’s actually an easy way to frame a film which simplifies it too much. The film’s central message is about how churches frame God’s teaching, but it’s as much about how the church looks at environmental concerns over the way the message is conveyed on Sunday, and, while it’s an interesting subject, Schrader’s approach is too methodical and somber to really feel like it’s landing its punches like it should be. The performances are all really good in this film- Hawke and Seyfried are particularly strong, while Ettinger makes an impression that lasts throughout the film, and Cedric the Entertainer hits all the notes she was supposed to- and the film craft at work in the film is as good as any film in Schrader’s filmmography, but I didn’t feel like the film connected with me emotionally the way it should have, especially with an ending that is haunting, but also raises more questions as to what Schrader’s ultimate goal was with the movie.
