Okay. It starts slow but, if youâve read my reviews before, you might know what Iâm about to say⌠stick with it. Itâs slow for a reason and thatâs okay! You canât rush art. âFirst Reformedâ is simply one of the best pictures of the year. It has been created for us for a reason. One of Hollywoodâs best, Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver; American Gigolo; Affliction), has decided to make something quite exceptional that will last beyond his years. Itâll be memorable because he knew what he wanted to say and purposely set out to grab you and shake you up. You wonât soon forget what you see which, of course, is the point⌠he doesnât want you to forget anything about it as itâs vital you donât. Itâs a narrative but holds so much truth and knowledge that you feel as if youâre getting schooled at the same time, but not so much so that you wonât feel the storyline that’s being playing out. Everything was well designed.
âWill God Forgive Us?â is a question that is posed in the film with regard to what man is doing to the environment. You donât see this as the ultimate message coming at you when youâre first introduced to the character of Reverend Toller (Hawke) but when he agrees to counsel Michael (Ettinger) the husband of a young pregnant woman, Mary (Seyfried), Toller grows as a priest and as a man in ways he couldnât avoid and the film changes. What Toller always knew to be true of institutions he holds in high regard comes crashing down around him when he, instead of talking, listens to what Michael is saying about manâs responsibilities toward the larger picture; Earth. Schrader set it up so you wonât miss it either.
Toller is the Reverend of a small church known more for its historical significance as being a stop along the Underground Railroad rather than its parishioners, so he finds himself salesman of its small store, more than Priest, and he’s rather bored. He journals and sips on whatâs supposed to go in the chalice on Sunday’s. Counseling is an escape and heâs happy to do it but when suicide becomes Michaelâs only answer to his extreme hate for living in such a cruel world, Toller picks up his cause.
Abundant Life, the larger church that keeps Tollerâs afloat, is putting on a show to commemorate its being there for 250 years. Abundant Life is run by Pastor Jeffers, played exceptionally well by Cedric the Entertainer, who preaches the word of God but who cares more about what goes into the collection plate. When Toller looks into Michaels environmental research, he finds out that one of the biggest polluters of the planet sponsors Abundant Life, even the restoration of his own church, and he makes a vow to fix things. Feeling as if he failed the activist, he then becomes the activist and decides to do something for God and all mankind⌠as God would have wanted. Though Schrader doesnât refer to Trump and what the head of the EPA, Scott Pruitt, is doing to actually stop environmental causes, rather than increase or protect them, you can feel his concern for the near future of man as a species and he wants you to see what people are willing to do to save the only home we have. We all need to do more.
âFirst Reformedâ is heavy on the religion but for a reason. Trust that Schrader must use this as a vehicle to get you to a certain destination⌠even though a few times youâre not sure where heâs going. Things go a might askew when Toller seems to be building a relationship with Mary, but itâs done in a way that, as an audience member, you can choose to see it or totally ignore it and stay within the spirit of the calculated directive. Ethan Hawke has you so mesmerized by the time you hit the halfway point that itâs easy to stay focused on the importance of the filmâs objective.
