Film Review: First Reformed — Paul Schrader (2018)
A bit of a slow burner, but infused with the right amount of dramatic tension to keep you hooked — First Reformed is one of those films that lingers on in your subconscious long after the end credits roll.
Directed by Paul Schrader and starring Ethan Hawke and Amanda Seyfried, the film follows a Protestant minister in the US questioning his faith and morality while serving as a pastor of a dwindling parish church. His life is shaken up when he meets Mary a pregnant women seeking counselling about her radical environmentalist husband Michael.
You may know Schrader for his work as a screenwriter for Scorsese in films like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull — however he’s had a busy career, having written and directed over 20 films. His films mainly deal with protagonist’s on a self-destructive path which result in painful sacrifice and acts of violence but are then usually followed by redemption in the finale.
Schader’s films can usually be classified as “man in a room” stories since the protagonist is usually stuck in a taxi or a room, a shield usually from an inhospitable outside world… this conflict is mirrored internally as the protagonist usually has inner demons from a past trauma or from his sense of helplessness at not being able to make any positive difference on the outside world.
Throughout the film, Ethan Hawke’s character suffers from grief over the death of his son. He tries various ways to find meaning in the world such through intellect (by reading obscure religious texts), through the body (by drinking himself into forgetfulness), and later through the spirit (by committing himself to a radical cause he thinks is for the greater good). However, in the end his pursuit of meaning in a meaningless world only has an answer in one based on self-less love for another.
A bit of a slow burner but infused with the right amount of dramatic tension to keep you hooked — First Reformed is one of those films that lingers on in your subconscious long after the end credits roll. It follows in the transcendental tradition of masters such as Bresson, Bergman and Dreyer, cinema that allows the camera to penetrate the human soul through a combination of silence, stillness, long takes and close-ups.
The film also does a great job at addressing big themes such as existentialism, faith, and even climate change in a really tight story. These are complemented by a very resonant and piercing soundtrack by Lustmord who focus on dark ambient music, perfect for bringing out a character dealing with an existential crisis.
Visually the film follows in the transcendental tradition of being as ascetic as possible using a desaturated colour palette which could almost be black and white if not for the brief moments of strong colour contrast in scenes that have profound emotional impacts on Ethan Hawke’s character.
Even the choice of the narrow 1.33.1 (4.3) aspect ratio is well thought out. This aspect ratio allows the focus to be as much on what the characters weren’t saying as what they were, with limited surrounding distractions as you would have in prevalent wide ratios used in most films today. It is also a a ratio commonly used by the transcendental style directors, particularly Bergman in Winter Light which was a large influence on this film.
Overall, it is one of those rare films these days that don’t try to drown you in style, special effects or genre tropes but instead tell a simple story well and in a way that makes you pause in reflect. It also does what great films should do, it makes you ask questions about yourself and the world you live in while at the same time it doesn’t give you any dogmatic answers. Ethan Hawke and Amanda Seyfried give fantastic and very complex performances that deserve accolades.
However, just like other films in the transcendental style, I wouldn’t recommend this film for anyone looking to kick back after a long day at work. While the film is beautifully put together with fantastic performances it also addresses serious questions such as how to get over loss and employs a visual style that may be less accessible for a modern audience used to fast-paced plot driven films.
Casual viewer rating = C+ / Film buff rating = A
