Crisis of faith movies are a bit of a common thing in cinema, so initially when I saw that Ethan Hawke was going to play a reverend coming to grips with his beliefs I was ready to write it off, but then when I saw that Paul Schrader was writing and directing the movie and A24 was publishing it and I was back on board.
Taking place in dreary upstate New York, First Reformed will show Reverend Toller played by Hawke come to grips with living in the age of the internet and a new era of radical domestic activism and where religion fits into those tumultuous times. Amanda Seyfried takes up the supporting role as a pregnant church member who worries about where her husband’s obsessions will lead him.
Paul Schrader hasn’t been doing too well in the directing department for the past few years but this is his script and I’m getting strong Taxi Driver vibes from this one so maybe this will be Schrader’s redemption piece? What little I saw of the trailer shows some beautifully composed cinematography so even if Schrader continues his string of rough movies at least it will be nice to look at.
First Reformed will open in theaters on May 18th.
