First Reformed

R

Released May 18, 2018

1 hr. 53 min.

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

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List

94%

254 Reviews

Tomatometer

69%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

The pastor of a small church in upstate New York spirals out of control after a soul-shaking encounter with an unstable environmental activist and his pregnant wife.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Alec C

What do we have left to believe in when we don't have our faith?! A reverend starts to spiral as he begins to doubt his church and its supposed morals, causing him to resort to some extremities. An insightful look into the churches many have put their faith in and the many moral hypocrisy that has questioned the path of God!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/06/24

Full Review

Chuck Houck C

I thought this was better-than-average the first time I saw it. After seeing it 2-3 more times over the years, my opinion has become that this is one of Ethan Hake's best performances.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/05/24

Full Review

Jeff M

I normally post reviews of movies within 48 hours of watching them so they are fresh in my mind. I've actually been sitting on this one for a week going back and forth, reliving scenes and performances in my mind and actually re-watching a couple. Let's say this upfront - Hawke is extraordinary! It baffles me how the Academy can hand the Oscar to a cartoonish performance like Rami Malek in BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY and in the same year not even nominate sublime work such as this. Art is indeed truly subjective. Thankfully, the film itself is almost as good as Hawke, and as someone who has serious concerns about organized religion after being highly involved in my younger years, it really gave me a lot to think about. It's a quietly devastating film whose atmospheric darkness and dreariness is a perfect companion to the lead character's anxiety and depression. I really wanted to give this at least 1/2 a star more, but I was let down by the very final seconds of the film which sadly turn conventional and are not worthy of what has come before it. Not a lot of laughs here, obviously, but a lot to think about and discuss afterwards. And, again, Hawke has never been better and carries this film on his shoulders like a pro!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/04/24

Full Review

Alec B

This is one of Schrader's best movies, with a screenplay reworking elements of "Taxi Driver" to ask serious moral questions about modern American Christianity and what, if any, purpose it can serve. Also, this career best work from Ethan Hawke.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/05/24

Full Review

The Great John A

A harrowing look into depression, suicidal thoughts and overcoming loss all in a mind of a veteran turned priest. Ethan hawke was brilliant (probably his best in his career) and Amanda seyfried too. Overall very good film but has been done with taxi driver before which Paul also did. Also bloody pee was accurate too. Grade: A

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/19/23

Full Review

KB B

This movie was very compelling but the ending was horrible. I would have definitely given it a higher rating but because of the poor ending I won't.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/27/23

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Paul Schrader

Director

Ethan Hawke

Reverend Ernst Toller

Amanda Seyfried

Mary

Philip Ettinger

Michael

Cedric the Entertainer

Reverend Joel Jeffers

Michael Gaston

Edward Balq

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First Reformed: Trailer 1

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Chris Nashawaty

Entertainment Weekly

First Reformed is a bleak, punishing movie and the furthest thing imaginable from an easy crowdpleaser. But Hawke juices it with an austere sense of grace.

Rated: B

Dec 26, 2018

Full Review

David Stratton

The Australian

The film is a cry of rage against the polluters and corrupters who, Schrader contends, are destroying the planet, as well as against the commercialisation of the churches and the growth of terrorism.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 9, 2018

Full Review

Mark Kermode

Kermode & Mayo's Film Review

They are weird moments of almost hypnotic transcendence, but at the center of it is that tortured God's lonely man character perfectly embodied by Ethan Hawke.

Aug 28, 2018

Full Review

Ryan McQuade

InSession Film

Schrader was making a battle cry, with a sermon of a script, and he picked the perfect vessel to deliver that sermon in Ethan Hawke, who gives the best performance of his career and of the year.

Apr 3, 2024

Full Review

James Slaymaker

Vague Visages

The power of First Reformed is rooted in Schrader's ability to take a number of clear forbearers — Bresson, Dreyer, Pialat — and twist them into a style that feels wholly unique and rooted in a personal set of values and obsessions.

Dec 14, 2023

Full Review

Devika Girish

Vague Visages

...a purposeful tackiness that somehow befits the issue of the earth’s disintegration...

Dec 6, 2023

Full Review

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Synopsis

The pastor of a small church in upstate New York spirals out of control after a soul-shaking encounter with an unstable environmental activist and his pregnant wife.

Director: Paul Schrader
Executive Producer: Brian Beckmann, Philip Burgin, Brooke Lyndon-Stanford, Martin McCabe, Luca Scalisi, Mick Southworth, Ying Ye
Screenwriter: Paul Schrader
Distributor: A24
Production Co: Killer Films, Fibonacci Films, Omeira Studio Partners
Rating: R (Some Disturbing Violent Images)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 18, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 31, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.4M

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