First Reformed (4/5 Stars)

It is hard to explain the appeal of devotional Christianity. That is, the type of Christianity in which one lives alone in prayer without any earthly comfort. Many saints lived in that way, some of which would endure what would be defined as torture, if it had not been self-inflicted. The early Christians had a reputation for suicide. Historians like Edward Gibbon argued that the downfall of the Roman Empire was in part caused by the many Christians who did not believe their civilization was worth living in: they opted out of Roman life, thus depriving the state of the citizens and soldiers it desperately needed to stave off internal revolution and outside invasion. In that way, the fall of the Roman Empire was caused in part by a Christian rejection of its unjust and unequal society. The Romans could not be beaten in a fight, so the Christians gave up all earthly ambitions in lieu of participating in a society they deemed sinful. In the end, Christianity defeated Rome by hollowing it out from within.

Can this devotional Christianity still hold appeal in our society today? In many ways our civilization is far better than the Romans in terms of equality, rule of law, health and happiness. But this movie makes a strong argument that there is still room for it, without sounding too much like Ezekiel or Jeremiah. If this polemic concerned the sexual revolution, crime, or immigration it could be dismissed by the scientific evidence that show either the problem is overblown or closer to being solved than it ever has been. However, what causes the despair in Pastor Toller (played by Ethan Hawke) is actually backed by the science. Pastor Toller becomes concerned about climate change due to encounters he has with a parishioner, a deeply troubled environmentalist.

Pastor Toller is the prime candidate for this form of Christianity before the film begins. He is recently divorced. His wife left him because he had encouraged his son to join the military (like he had done and his father had done before him) and his son was killed in Iraq in a war with no moral justification. He lives simply, alone, and in deteriorating health. He works at First Reformed, a museum church with a very small following that is being funded by a richer, fuller, and more entertaining church called Abundant Life. Abundant Life is headed by Pastor Joel Jeffers who is played by Cedric Kyles (better known as Cedric the Entertainer) in a rare dramatic role. The juxtaposition between what Christianity started out as and what is now being called the Prosperity Gospel may by itself cause despair. In one scene Pastor Toller when volunteering in a youth ministry, one of the kids explains that her father goes to church and prays all the time, so why she asks, is he still unemployed? Pastor Toller tries to explain that Jesus is not calling people to be successful (at least in the commercial sense). He is angrily attacked for this view by another one of the kids. At another point he finds out that Abundant Life has accepted charitable funds from the area’s main polluter, Balq Energy. What is Pastor Toller going to about all this? What would Jesus do?

Like most movies that deal with heavy philosophical questions, this movie could descend into unbearable melodrama. It was written and directed however by Paul Schrader, who has had much experience in bringing these types of moods and themes to our screens. (He is best known for his Scorsese collaborations Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The Last Temptation of Christ). This can be noticed almost immediately when he chooses to devote what has to be at least ten minutes of conversation in one room between two people, Pastor Toller and Michael, the despairing environmentalist. In most other movies, the scene would have ended five minutes earlier. But Schrader stays and flushes out all the arguments about life, forgiveness, hope, and despair. The result is fascinating, half because it is almost never done (perhaps the last time I saw something similar was the fifteen minute conversation between the priest and Bobby Sands in Steve McQueen’s Hunger) and half because all the arguments both for and against make sense.

Schrader has had a famously uneven career as a movie director. His last one starred Lindsay Lohan and James Deen and I’ve heard was particularly bad. It is nice to see him return to form here and make one of his best movies. Ethan Hawke is also very good and Cedric Kyles once again proves that comedians can be the perfect choice for certain dramatic roles. First Reformed does not end tidily and given the existential problems it explores, it probably could not do so. But its journey will take you places most other movies would not know how to find. I recommend watching it alone at home in a dark room with no distractions and a bottle of scotch.