Film Review: "First Reformed" (2017).

"The kingdom come undone" in First Reformed. This drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader. Reverend Ernst Toller is a solitary, middle-aged parish pastor at a small Dutch Reform church in upstate New York on the cusp of celebrating its 250th anniversary. Once a stop on the Underground Railroad, the church is now a tourist attraction catering to a dwindling congregation, eclipsed by its nearby parent church, Abundant Life, with its state-of-the-art facilities and 5,000-strong flock. When a pregnant parishioner asks Reverend Toller to counsel her husband, a radical environmentalist, the clergyman finds himself plunged into his own tormented past, and equally despairing future, until he finds redemption in an act of grandiose violence.

Schrader was motivated to write the script based on his despair at the effect of climate change on the planet. Films of Ingmar Bergman, Robert Bresson and Andrei Tarkovsky served as influences. Principal photography took place throughout New York, over the course of twenty days, with a budget of $3.5 million. Schrader also said he was inspired by Paweł Pawlikowski's film Ida (2013) to shoot in a 4:3 aspect ratio as he liked the way it framed the human body. Schrader also liked the sense of claustrophobia that the framing suggests. He said: "It...drives the vertical lines, so you get more of the human body in the frame."

The film stars Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried, Cedric Kyles, and Michael Gaston. The powerful performances by Hawke and Seyfried make the film well worth a look, even if they are part of a less-than-developed whole. Hawke could have based his oddly sympathetic performance on the image of a sick animal scrounging for food and shelter along deserted country roads as his character is searching for spiritual meaning in a desolate modern world.

First Reformed stands as one of Schrader's finest efforts, who tells a small story with universal implications and explores the devastating affliction of violence between men. It's like watching the disintegration of a psyche under a microscope as cracks in Toller's facade erupt into tremors of violence. Well acted by Hawke and Seyfried, Schrader's strongest film in years is a powerful reverie on spiritual yearning, how incontrollable violence and lawlessness is tolerated throughout God's world. Rarely has the dynamics of violence been portrayed on the screen with such grim and palpable power. It is a powerful, bleak drama about a solitary, middle-aged parish pastor's search for redemption through violence. A terrifying film that faces the truth of violence and its everlasting results. Schrader has made his reputation revealing the scarred psyches of American men. In the film, he creates his most poignant and powerful work. It takes itself seriously and has no pity, regrets, or agreements. The film is one of Schrader's most subtle and confident films, and damn hard to shake off. If you want a personal, compelling tale with a touch of intrigue, let the film haunt you for a couple of hours. Simply one of the best films of the year.

Simon says First Reformed receives: