‘First Reformed’ is about faith and radicalization in an unexpected package

Posted on June 15, 2018

By MARK VIOLA

While the summer-movie season is filled with big-budget blockbusters and high-profile projects, there is still room for smaller fare to find its way to the big screen. One of the latest to do so — and make it to our area — is “First Reformed,” from writer/director Paul Schrader (“City Hall,” “American Gigolo”), who has also penned some extremely well-known films such as “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull.”

This is a slow, methodical film with multiple layers to the story of Toller (Ethan Hawke, “The Magnificent Seven”), a pastor dealing with demons from his past as he tries to lead the tiny flock of First Reformed, a centuries-old church in upstate New York. Toller’s faith in mankind will be tested when he is asked by one of his parishioners Mary (Amanda Seyfried, “Les Misérables”) to speak with her husband, Michael (Philip Ettinger, “Dominion”), whose worries over environmental destruction have led him to despair.

“First Reformed” is a movie that both fascinated and completely befuddled me. As I said, there are multiple layers to the story, and I think different people will latch onto different ones. For me, I found myself watching a story of how someone can become radicalized through experiences both past and present. Considering how such stories these days are usually framed, I found this a very interesting departure

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