Ernst Toller is the pastor of the First Reformed Church in Snowbridge, New York, who is struggling with a crisis of faith. The film opens with him writing down his thoughts in a journal, which he plans to keep for a year, and then destroy it. He leads a 250-year-old Dutch Reformed Church which was once a stop on the Underground Railroad. It faces dwindling attendance under Toller's leadership, which has taken the church away from its historical focus on Calvinist theology; it now serves mostly as a tourist attraction. Toller, a former military chaplain, is also struggling with the death of his son Joseph, who was killed in the Iraq War, and with alcoholism. Toller seeks a deeper spiritual understanding through reading Roman Catholic writers and mystical books. This leads him to seek support from Abundant Life, the evangelical megachurch in Albany that owns First Reformed. He is approached by Mary, who is seeking counseling for Michael, her radical-environmentalist husband. Michael further challenges Toller's beliefs: he explains that he wants Mary to get an abortion, because he does not want to bring a child into a world that will be rendered almost uninhabitable by climate change. Mary finds a suicide vest belonging to her husband in their garage. Toller takes it, promising to counsel Michael about it. Mary and Toller discuss going to the police, but Toller feels it would worsen Michael's state. Just before their next appointment, Michael sends Toller a text message asking to meet in a local park. Toller arrives to find Michael dead of a self-inflicted shotgun wound. In accordance with Michael's will and testament, a service is held at a local toxic-waste dump, where his ashes are scattered. Meanwhile, plans are underway to celebrate the sestercentennial of First Reformed with a service attended by the mayor, the governor, and Edward Balq, one of Abundant Life's key financial backers and the owner of a polluting factory. At a meeting in a diner, Balq takes issue with Toller honoring Michael's will and deems it a political act, and the two argue over climate change: Balq dismisses it as "complicated", but Toller sees it as a straightforward matter of Christian stewardship. Experiencing physical pain, Toller reluctantly sees a doctor, who suspects stomach cancer and schedules some tests. Toller has Michael's laptop computer, which he took after Michael's suicide to prevent the police from discovering Michael's radicalism and making trouble for Mary. He uses it to research Michael's concerns, including the materials on Balq's factory which inspired him to make the explosive vest. One night, Mary visits Toller in the parsonage of the church, and he plays Michael's role in a nonsexual rite of physical intimacy that the couple used to perform. Toller begs Mary not to attend the anniversary service. Preparing for his role in the ceremony, he puts on the explosive vest, and arms it. When he sees Mary entering for the ceremony, he removes the vest and instead wraps himself in barbed wire under his alb. Toller pours a glass full of drain cleaner and is about to drink it when Mary interrupts him. The two embrace, kissing passionately before the film abruptly cuts to black.
Cast
Ethan Hawke as Pastor Ernst Toller, leader of a tiny historic church who is going through several personal crises
Amanda Seyfried as Mary Mensana, a pregnant widow and parishioner at First Reformed
Cedric Kyles as Pastor Joel Jeffers, megachurch pastor at the evangelical Abundant Life church
First Reformed grossed $100,270 from four theaters in its opening weekend, an average of $25,068 per venue, one of the best of Schrader's career. It went on to make $4 million worldwide.
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 93% based on 234 reviews, and an average rating of 8.33/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Brought to life by delicate work from writer-director Paul Schrader and elevated by a standout performance by Ethan Hawke, First Reformed takes a sensitive and suspenseful look at weighty themes." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 85 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian said, "the sheer Bunyanesque severity of this film is as refreshing as a glass of ice-cold water... a passionately focused film but not a masterpiece" and noted that Ethan Hawke's character's name was an allusion to the German playwright of the same name.
Accolades
The film received nominations for four awards at the Independent Spirit Awards: Best Film, Best Male Lead for Hawke, and Best Director and Best Screenplay for Schrader. At the Critics' Choice Movie Awards, the film received two nominations for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay, winning in the latter. Schrader and Hawke were awarded Best Screenplay and Best Actor respectively at the Gotham Awards. Both the National Board of Review and American Film Institute listed it as one of the Top 10 Films of 2018, with the former's awarding Schrader the award for Best Original Screenplay. Schrader's screenplay also was nominated for an Academy Award.
