First Reformed (2017)

First Reformed is the 2017 film starring Ethan Hawke as Reverend Toller. Toller is the pastor at an upstate New York church. The church has historical significance but it's congregation has dwindled. In fact, the church is actually owned by one of these "Megachurches, called Abundant Life. Within Abundant Life, the First Reformed Church is referred to as "the tourist church" or "the souvenir shop." It quickly becomes apparent that Toller has a complicated past which has led him to the ministry. Despite having chosen to enter the ministry, Toller still is grappling with his own issues and anxieties. One Sunday, following his sermon, Toller is approached by a member of his congregation, Mary (Amanda Seyfried), who wants Toller to help counsel her husband, Michael (Phillip Ettinger). Mary is pregnant and her husband has recently been released from a Canadian jail on compassionate release because of her pending pregnancy. Michael is an environmental activist and is deeply concerned about the impact of bringing another life into the world. Toller and Micheal begin meeting. As we watch their sessions we learn more about Toller's complicated past and present. While all of this is happening Toller and his superiors at Abundant Life are planning a celebration for the 250th anniversary of the First Reformed Church. In order to accommodate the celebration there are a number of necessary repairs and upgrades. Abundant Life arranges for a local industrialist, Ed Balq (Michael Gaston). As Toller and Michael meet, Toller begins reading more and more of Michael's material and it's getting to him. One day Toller gets a call from Mary asking him to meet her at the home. When he arrives Mary takes him to the garage and shows him a bomb vest. Things are clearly getting more serious. Michael calls Toller and asks him to meet him at a trail. Toller arrives and what he discovers begins a chain of events that lead us to the conclusion of the film. I want to avoid giving any further spoilers. I think that when people go into this film that they should go in blind to the ending. There are hints throughout the movie and yet the ending is shocking and catches you off guard. Now, the ending of the movie results in mixed reactions, and understandably so. I think the reactions the ending generates is ultimately the strength of the movie. The movie prompts deep questions about faith, about life, about having truly strong feelings about anything. For me, it created moments of introspection in a way that many movies rarely do. On IMDB this movie has an aggregate score of 7.1 out of 10 stars. I give this a slightly higher rating at 8 out of 10 stars. Now, there are serious warning you should consider before watching this movie. There are a few intense scenes, one that's graphic, and of course there's language to consider. I'm not just talking about swearing, but the subject matter of some of the conversations. Despite these warning, I really recommend this movie for adults. This isn't a movie for young kids though. If you've been on the fence about seeing this film, there are few people I wouldn't recommend it to.