First Reformed (Paul Schrader, 2017): USA, UK, AUSTRALIA

Reviewed by William Geare. Viewed at the 2019 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

“I know that nothing can change and I know there is no hope” Reverend Ernst Toller scribbles in his journal. The disillusioned leader of the 250 year-old First Reformed Church is at the end of his rope. Having spent his time at the church surrounded by those who bastardize his own belief system to support a corrupt agenda, he is finally taking it upon himself to take action against them.

Helmed by accomplished filmmaker Paul Schrader, First Reformed is a fascinatingly cerebral film with a distinctly haunting tone that deliberately toys with its audience. It is an angry film made by angry people, with an intent more often than not to upset rather than please. Ethan Hawke gives one of the most captivatingly restrained performances of his career as the reserved and lonely Reverend Toller, capturing all of the nuances of Schrader’s writing. The camera work and musical score are similarly controlled, as a vast majority of the shots are absolutely still and the first half of the film is entirely devoid of music. For one, this makes the experience of watching the film all the more disturbing, since we as viewers are being deprived of some of the most rudimentary elements of the medium that we take for granted. More importantly however, the establishment of the “no movement, no music” rule makes it all it all the more effective when the rule is broken with the inclusion of the steady camera motion and the low, atmospheric melodies in the second half of the film.

From start to finish, First Reformed delivers on a thematically captivating story that would make even Tarkovsky and Kubrick proud. The film’s unconventionally stilted presentation contributes to an overwhelming sense of discomfort, that something could go wrong at any second. This tension is heightened especially towards the third act of the film, resulting in an emotionally devastating climax and a tantalizingly ambiguous ending. I was invested in every second.