[yasr_overall_rating]
A former military chaplain is wracked by grief over the death of his son. Mary is a member of his church whose husband, a radical environmentalist, commits suicide, setting the plot in motion.
Rejoice movie lovers – at least a few films still get made that target something other than the LCD (lowest common denominator) audience. In this case, it is “First Reformed,” a motion picture that does not rely on superheroes, comic book characters or rogues from a galaxy far away.
Now that I have run off half of the readers of this review, let’s continue. As should be well-known, writer-director Paul Schrader is a member of an elite group of filmmakers who hit their stride in the 1970s during the era of “Easy Riders” and “Raging Bulls.” You may have heard of some of his contemporaries – Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Brian De Palma. They are a prolific bunch, most or all of whom are still actively at work. In Schrader’s case, he’s only 71, and I suspect that 70 may be the new 50.
Schrader is perhaps best-known for directing “American Gigolo” and writing the screenplay for Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver.” However, it should be noted that Schrader also helmed “Cat People” with Nastassja Kinski, and directed James Coburn to an Oscar in “Affliction,” among many other credits.
“First Reformed,” tells the story of a troubled clergyman named Ernst Toller, played by Ethan Hawke, whose son was killed in the Iraq war – which cost him his marriage and perhaps his sanity. He has begun writing a journal by hand that he intends to destroy after making a year’s worth of entries – perhaps as a way to expunge his demons.
Reverend Toller is pastor of the First Reformed Church in upstate New York, an austere building with an equally austere private residence attached. This is where Toller lives, drinks heavily and handwrites his ephemeral journal. The First Reformed Church is a tourist stop, but more importantly, an adjunct to the much larger Abundant Life Christian Fellowship Church nearby, which boasts 5000 members. Cedric Kyles plays Jeffers, the megachurch pastor who is ultimately responsible for both Abundant Life and First Reformed.
After a Sunday service, Reverend Toller is approached by one of the few people in his tiny congregation – a woman named Mary, played well by Amanda Seyfried. She asks Toller to counsel her husband Michael, played by Philip Ettinger. Michael is a troubled environmentalist advocate who believes humans should no longer procreate because of what they have done to the planet and what the future portends as a result. Since his wife is pregnant, he is clearly conflicted. The lengthy scene in which Hawke and Ettinger spar contains gems of dialog that remain far too rare in films. Reverent Toller, clearly moved by the encounter, begins to question his place and his purpose in the grand scheme.
Much of the plot framework centers on the 250th anniversary of the First Reformed Church – its maintenance and refurbishment largely funded by a corporation engaged in, at best, questionable environmental practices. Michael Gaston plays the head of the company, Edward Balq. There is also an interesting angle on relationships when the Abundant Life choir leader, played by Australian actress Victoria Hill, has some brief but revealing conversations with Reverend Toller.
The film’s strength lies in its portrayal of the juxtaposition of religious doubt and fervor. As Toller puts it early on in the film, intelligent souls can hold two opposing truths – despair and hope – in their mind simultaneously. Toller wrestles with these issues throughout the film and his journey is an insightful one. The environmental themes that he is unwittingly drawn to are timely and important.
There are some clichéd references to global warming, such as the ninety-seven percent consensus platitude, which is a simplistic criticism lacking useful detail. The predictive capability of climate change models, for example, continues to be uneven at best – one of the reasons people still seem to want to debate the issue. Further, global warming or climate change is but of one of at least nine planetary boundaries that are threatened by human activity according to scholars – all of which should concern us. Focus on just one and it might as well be a bumper sticker. Interestingly – for viewers with an eye for detail – we can see a poster identifying and outlining these nine systems hanging on the wall above Michael’s desk for several moments during the film.
The entire cast is excellent, but Hawke is utterly mesmerizing as Revered Toller, a conflicted soul who relishes a cerebral debate but also struggles to discern the truly moral course of action. “First Reformed” is a solid independent film – a welcome respite from the mind-numbing fantasy incessantly pervading theaters these days.
Available on Blu-ray (plus Digital) and DVD August 21st
