Review: First Reformed

Image courtesy of A24.

Raised in the strict Calvinist denomination of the Christian Reformed Church, writer-director Paul Schrader has long considered religion, sin, punishment and redemption in his works, from his iconic collaborations as screenwriter with Martin Scorsese - "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull" and "The Last Temptation of Christ" -  to his efforts behind the camera, such as "Hardcore" and "Light Sleeper." His latest picture, "First Reformed," is not only his best film in some years, but one of his best movies, period.

The film examines the anguish experienced by a lost soul named Ernst Toller (an incredible Ethan Hawke), who just happens to be a reverend at a mostly forgotten church known as First Reformed that is located in upstate New York. The church is overshadowed by a nearby mega-church known as Abundant Life, which is operated by Toller's mentor (Cedric the Entertainer). First Reformed is mostly visited for tours, despite the church's gift shop only having small-sized T-shirts.

As the movie opens, Toller is already bordering on the verge of some sort of crisis. It's not exactly the type you'd expect either. He hasn't lost his faith in God, per se, but rather his faith in the increasingly dark world in which he lives. Toller writes in a journal that he plans to keep for a year and burn. While extolling himself in writing, Toller spends his evenings mostly alone, unless you count the various bottles of booze that keep him company. Also, blood in his urine and a persistent cough spell trouble for the future of his health. We also learn that, years before, Toller had encouraged his son to enlist in the military. When his son died in Iraq, it wrecked his marriage. Toller had briefly had a relationship with his church's organist, but it has seemingly ended awkwardly.

A young woman named - what else? - Mary (Amanda Seyfried) visits Toller early in the film to plead with him to visit with her husband, Michael (Philip Ettinger), an environmental activist who had recently spent time in jail in Canada, and is now crippled by depression. Toller learns that Mary is pregnant, but Michael wants her to abort it, feeling guilty for bringing a child into a world that, he notes, will soon face environmental catastrophe.

There's a fascinating conversation between Toller and Michael, during which it's difficult to argue with either's viewpoint. Michael despairs over the state of the world and questions how to find meaning in such a place. Toller attempts to comfort, even though he knows his words are, ultimately, well meaning, but incapable of providing solace. Toller is further disturbed to find out from Mary that her husband has put together a "suicide vest," which she believes he might use to blow up a local polluter operated by a smarmy jerk named Ed Balq.

Then, a tragedy occurs. But rather send Toller into further existential crisis, the reverend finds a new sense of purpose that is, at first, noble and righteous, but later self destructive. The final third of the picture focuses on Toller's gradual spiral as he contemplates whether to further Michael's work in some form or fashion. The film ends on a startling moment of relief as two of the film's characters realize something that had been in front of them the entire time.

Schrader's film examines faith in a fallen world, a concept that is as seriously contemplated here as in the best of Ingmar Bergman and Robert Bresson's work. The film was shot in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio, which gives the picture a severe, constricted feeling, and this feels appropriate considering the subject matter. There's one scene that could best be described as a flight - quite literally, in fact - of fancy that I won't give away here, but it has a mystical vibe that would feel more at home in Terrence Malick's remarkable "The Tree of Life." However, it's a dreamy reprieve in a film so concerned with the suffering of the soul.

Following several missteps - the disastrous "The Canyons" and just average "The Dying of the Light" - Schrader has delivered one of his best movies in years with "First Reformed." This is an intense, moving, suspenseful and thematically rich picture that boasts one of Ethan Hawke's finest performances. It is, so far, the best movie I've seen this year.