A small-town reverend becomes disillusioned with the world after being asked to speak to a troubled man who ultimately commits suicide.
DRAMA
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First Reformed (2018)Written and Directed by Paul Schrader
Starring Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried, Cedric the Entertainer, Philip Ettinger, Victoria Hill, Michael Gaston Oscar Nominations - Best Original Screenplay |
First Reformed is a dark movie with very dark subject matter, and I would expect nothing less from an A24 production written and directed by Paul Schrader. This film features what may be Ethan Hawke's finest performance, as he plays a reverend on the tipping point who gets pushed further into the darkness by an untimely suicide. I was recommended this film by my friend and podcast co-host Austin Johnson, and I must say I didn't really know what I was getting into. All I knew was Ethan Hawke plays a priest, but I didn't know anything about the engaging story and brilliant misdirection in the third act.
Hawke is Reverend Toller, a divorced man of God who leads an almost nonexistent congregation and is constantly condescended to by the big megachurch down the road. He's lost a child and he has secret health problems that are starting to become dangerous. When he's asked by Mary (Amanda Seyfried) to talk to her depressed husband Michael (Philip Ettinger), Toller becomes engrossed in Michael's fears of climate disaster and environmental destruction, so much so that it begins to consume Toller's thoughts as it did Michael's. The film treats this fear almost like a demon that latches on to vulnerable souls. It's a brilliant watch. First Reformed is not for the faint-hearted. It's a tough film to watch because it discusses taboo subject matter like depression, suicide, crisis of faith, and even martyrdom. But it uses these subjects in a way that doesn't demonize, but instead shows the symptoms that lead to them. Toller is not a "fire and brimstone" kind of reverend. He's a normal man with a normal life who tries to preach the good word in his own way, but life gets in his way and he realizes no good can come from ignoring God's signs. Give this film a look-see. You won't be disappointed. |