Review of First Reformed (2018) by John M — 15 Jun 2018

Bleakness in the ordinary. So this is about a priest (Ethan Hawke) who is getting ready to celebrate his small church's 250th anniversary. As the big day approaches, everything starts to deteriorate: his relationships around him, his health, and his outlook on life in general.

Will he be able to find the light again, and will God be able to forgive him? Now I didn't know a ton about this movie; I knew it was getting pretty good critical traction, but other than that, I just identified it as that Ethan Hawke priest movie.

I don't think I have ever seen a priest movie that is light and fluffy, and this is just as dreary as you can probably gather from the description. I thought this is decent enough, but I would be lying if I said that this resonated with me.

Now this is a film that is slow and contemplative. It feels like it could easily be a two act play; there is nothing big about it or any major set pieces, and apart from one trippy sequence, everything would translate really well to the stage.

This is written and directed by Paul Schrader who wrote some of Martin Scorsese's most beloved early films. He kind of has a Michael Haneke flavor to him; he will just let scenes just play out, and he clearly likes depressing material.

A lot of the scenes in this are flat, and I don't mean that they don't work, I mean that they are very simply shot. It is also all filmed in a 4:3 ratio instead of the standard 16:9. I don't think it really adds anything to it other than a somewhat unique look.

The acting in this is fine. For the most part, it relies on subtleties, so there isn't any performance that really blows you away. Ethan Hawke and Amanda Seyfriend are professionals as always, but the person who most impressed me in this was Cedric the Entertainer as a pastor and the main character's boss, in a sense.

He actually fits the role really well, and I don't think I have seen him act in a part so serious before. He's quite good at it, actually, and I think that he should explore more indie movies like this.

Some people might get bored with First Reformed, and while I wouldn't say that it ever had that effect on me, I will say that I never formed any tangible connection with it, despite it having merit to it.