Movie #1661 "First Reformed" --- well, I have heard tons of good things about the film as far as Paul Shrader directing and Ethan Hawke acting, but I went into this not knowing about the story at all, or that Amanda Seyfried (a favorite) was co-starring. All of the above made me continue watching it when I might have stopped it about 10 minutes in. Why? It is so stark, gloomy, and extremely tense, as if we are sitting in a room waiting for a bomb to go off. The film escalates in tenseness as the reverend (Hawke) starts to act on what he has become passionate about. I don't want to say more about the plot (see below for basics) , but there are some very memorable moments here, trademark of Shrader, and his expertise is in presenting what's in the mind of terribly damaged people. I have a reserved recommendation here. Not sure many of you would like it --- it won a critics' choice award for its screenplay tonight, so that tells me that it is being respected by critics who are and have been fans of Paul Shrader's work for a long time. The screenplay is a strength here, along with the visuals and Hawke's acting --- so for those reasons I would see it. But it is terribly gloomy, stark and tense for a very long time, so not sure how many of you would enjoy that. I give it 3.5 out of 5.
"FIRST REFORMED" 1 hour 48 mins 2018 R-rated
Mired in guilt over his son's death, the pastor of a small church agrees to counsel a pregnant congregant and her environmentalist husband, who challenges the clergyman's views and leads him to embrace the same cause, regardless of the consequences.
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