First Reformed (2017)

I suppose I must admit, reluctantly, that I'm an afficionado of filmmaker Paul Schrader.  Paul Schrader has written and directed a critically-acclaimed movie with a religious backdrop now in theaters, First Reformed (2017).

It's not easy for me to admit my fandom as such, because as a Catholic Christian, it isn't hard to be offended by story elements and directorial choices in Paul Schrader's body of work, including most films he's written and directed.

Here's a small sampling of his work:

Synopsis From Google:

Hardcore (1979)-"When Michigan businessman Jake Van Dorn (George C. Scott) lets his teenage daughter go on a church trip to California, she never returns.  Jake hires Los Angeles investigator Andy Mast (Peter Boyle) to look for her, and Mast turns up a pornographic film she's recently appeared in.  Both stunned and increasingly disappointed with the police, Jake travels to California where he poses as an adult-film producer in hopes of finding someone who's seen his little girl."

American Gigolo (1980)-"Julian (Richard Gere) a gigolo, commands high prices for his services, living a lavish if emotionally unattached lifestyle under the management of Anne (Nina van  Pallandt).  While secretly working for pimp Leon (Bill Duke), Julian is assigned to service Mr. Reiman (Tom Stewart) and his wife, Judy (Patti Carr), but leaves when their violent requests make him nervous.  When Mrs. Rheiman is found dead and no one is willing to testify on his behalf, Julian finds himself the primary suspect."

Cat People (1982)-"In this sensual and violent horror tale, Irena Gallier (Nastassia Kinski) has a dark family secret, one that surfaces dramatically when she reconnects with her estranged brother, Paul (Malcolm McDowell). Living with her sibling in New Orleans, Irena finds herself enamored with zoologist Oliver Yates (John Heard), even as her brother makes his own advances toward her.  It's not long before the dark and dangerous curse of the Gallier clan rears its feline head."

All three of these films have problematic elements for any devout person of faith, to say the least.  Yet I have to say, when I see them, say, playing on tv, I can't change the channel.  Like unexpectedly running into an accident on the highway, one finds it hard to look away.

Much of the appeal, for me, has to do with stylistic elements of these films-production design, musical score, cinematography, etc.  They also feature stand-out performances by the various actors involved.  They are, visually and aurally,  highly emblematic of that period of time that happens to be my favorite of all my years growing up, the early 1980s.  And, despite a plethora of despicable characters and situations, and morally ambiguous messages, Schrader knows how to tell a good story.

Paul Schrader is also responsible for a quintuple of collaborations as a scriptwriter with celebrated director Martin Scorsese:  Taxi Driver (1976), an instant classic of 70s cinema; Raging Bull (1980), cited by many critics as the best movie of the decade of the 80s; the misguided, overrated The Last Temptation of Christ (1988); and the forgettable Bringing Out the Dead (1999).

Other films that Schrader has worked on include his directorial debut, the crime drama Blue Collar (1978); the biographical sketch of Japanese writer Yukio Mishima in the drama Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985); and the gritty drug dealer drama Light Sleeper (1992) which, together with American Gigolo, Taxi Driver, and The Walker (2007) comprises an unofficial "Night Workers" series for Schrader.

Schrader was born into a religious family in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  His family attended a strict Calvinist Christian Reformed Church.  Many of his early years were guided by the tenets of his religious faith.  It can be argued that based on the output of much of his career, starting off as a film critic, then screenwriter, then director, Schrader's work displays a rebellion against his religious upbringing.

So it is a pleasant surprise that, toning down his trademark over-emphasis on style, Schrader brings us, with First Reformed, a feature of much substance.  I would even be so bold as to say that, in a change of pace for him, this is a movie that Schrader does not seem to be rebelling against religious belief.  Rather, he seems to attempt, in his own way, to make sense of it.  Schrader is interested in what it means to have faith, and what it means to express said faith.

In a mature performance that deserves to nab him another Academy Award nomination,  Ethan Hawke is the Reverend Ernst Toller, pastor of First Reformed, an upstate New York Dutch Reformed Church that is due to celebrate it's 250th anniversary.  His congregation, however, are little more than tourists passing through, most days.  These folks come to listen to stories Toller tells of the tiny church's history, and buy First Reformed-related merchandise.

Its quickly shown that the existence of First Reformed is predicated on the financial support of a local megachurch, the much more prosperous (in more ways than one) Abundant Life.  The pastor of Abundant Life, Pastor Jeffers (ably played by Cedric the Entertainer) installed Toller in his current post as a favor, after the death of Toller's son in Iraq, and the subsequent break-up of his marriage.  Toller himself seems to be coping with these losses, by turning to excessive alcohol consumption.  We also learn to fear for his health, as we are led to believe he is suffering from a mysterious stomach ailment.  He also has taken to writing a journal, which is an effective way to hear his thoughts in voice-over narration.  Normally, I find voice-over narration a lazy device for dramatic exposition in a film, and prefer to have a film "show me," as opposed to "tell me."  But, the journal paired with the voice-over, where we can read the journal on-screen as we hear the words, is actually a nice touch here (and a technique Schrader has used in previous films.)

One day, Reverend Toller is approached by an actual, non-tourist member of his small band of regular congregants, a young pregnant woman named Mary (played by the always sweet and charming Allentown, PA native Amanda Seyfried.) Mary is concerned about her husband Michael (Phillip Ettinger) a suicidally-depressed extremist environmental activist.  She turns to Toller for help in counseling Michael, because she believes (not without justification) that Michael views Abundant Life as "too corporate," and would rather listen to what Toller has to say to him.  Toller agrees to meet with Michael.

In the course of meeting with Michael, Toller discovers just how dedicated to his environmental activism Michael truly can be.  Toller also discovers Michael's doubts about bringing a child into a world that Michael believes will be devastated by global climate change in the next fifty years.  It is strongly implied that Michael wishes Mary to terminate her pregnancy.  Toller effectively counters Michael by confronting him with his own story-he lets him know that the devastation of losing a child, is a far, far worse feeling than allowing a child to grow up to an uncertain future.

Toller, after meeting Michael, cannot help but be inspired by Michael's dedication to environmental causes, adopting many of those beliefs himself.  Toller does some independent research, and learns that one of the biggest donors to Abundant Life (a financial benefit that trickles down to his own First Reformed) is Edward Balq (Michael Gaston, who fans of tv's late, great The Mentalist will recognize.) Balq runs an industrial company that is a leading polluter of the environment.  Uncovering this bit of knowledge runs Toller headlong into conflict with Pastor Jeffers and his prime donor Balq, confronting their unsympathetic ears with the refrain "Will God forgive us?" numerous times.  Toller, it seems, feels they are all complicit in the slow death of the environment.

The entire plot comes to a head in the third act, at a grand ceremony in honor of First Reform's milestone anniversary, which is due to be attended by many state dignitaries as well as being supported, financially and otherwise, by Abundant Life and Balq.  Schrader is perhaps best known as the screenwriter of Taxi Driver, and I can say, without spoiling anything, that there are definite shades of similarity in that film's denouement, and First Reform's ending.

A few random observations in watching this movie:

There is a noticeable inclusion of references to famous Cistercian Monk and Catholic writer Thomas Merton sprinkled in the film.  I have to wonder if actor Hawke must have influenced Schrader to include these references?  I've read in previous interviews with Hawke that he is a devotee of Merton's works.

I've followed Ethan Hawke's career for quite some time, as he is but a few years older than myself in real-life.  From Explorers to Dead Poet's Society to Mystery Date to Reality Bites to Hamlet to Training Day to the Before trilogy to About a Boy to First Reformed,  Hawke has progressively delivered better and better performances.  He's a standout in the same generation of actors as Keanu Reeves, Christian Slater, Leonardo DiCaprio, and the late River Phoenix.  While it is difficult to hear him as Rev. Toller and similarly-aged Abundant Life administrator Ester (Victoria Hill)-who he's had a dalliance with- talk about their best days as being behind them, it is a wake-up call as to the passage of time in my own life.

I've mentioned that director Paul Schrader is usually known for a flashy, memorable style.  Here, it is more basic-a simple black-on-white credits sequence in the beginning of the movie is a prime example of this restrained style.  Also, the movie's score is minimal, relying on either abject silence, religious hymns when appropriate, or subtle, rather dark instrumentals at times.  The film is shot in the square academy aspect ratio by Alexander Dynan by a frequently stationary camera, a technique that is most impressive in the opening framing shot when we get our first glimpse of the First Reformed church.

I got a kick out of noting the theological differences between my own religious tradition of Roman Catholicism, and, say, the evangelical beliefs of Pastor Jeffers of Abundant Life in this movie.  When Pastor Jeffers remarks something to the effect of "Christ suffered already for our sins so there is no need for us to suffer" (I am paraphrasing) I cannot help but compare that to what we are taught as Catholics, that through our own earthly sufferings, we as humans get closer to God, and to Heaven.  Pastor Jeffers also expresses the belief that Thomas Merton, as a cloistered monk, really knew nothing of the real world, or was limited in what he could do to effect it.  Anyone who believes in the true power of prayer (which monks are especially adept at) might balk at this suggestion, as well as those who knew of Thomas Merton's real life adventures away from the monastery in Kentucky.

All in all, First Reformed is a welcome film.  It is refreshing to see a respected art film from a master director take on the subject of faith through a, more or less, objective lens.  I do hope this movie does well financially and at award season in the coming months, to encourage the creation of other films in this vein.