First Reformed
2017 · Movie · R · 113 min · ★ 7.0 · 90% critics
A pastor at a small church in upstate New York begins to unravel after an intense meeting with an unstable environmental activist and his pregnant wife. The encounter shakes his sense of faith and duty, pulling him into their crisis as his own outlook shifts and his world grows darker.
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Details
- Years
- 2017
- Release date
- 2018-05-18
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 113 min
- Max quality
- UHD
- Critic score
- 90/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.0/10 (1,462 votes)
- Box office
- $3,862,498
- Budget
- $3,500,000
About
If you enjoy brooding faith-versus-despair stories and psychological spirals like Taxi Driver or Dark Waters, you may like First Reformed; Not for you if you want light pacing, clear answers, or you dislike films that feel preachy or preach-to-action heavy.
Pros: captivating character study; standout lead performance; thoughtfully tense atmosphere | Cons: heavy environmental messaging; slow, unsettling pacing; polarizing and ambiguous resolution
Themes
- suicide
- funeral
- explosive
- faith
- christianity
- widow
- despair
- pregnancy
- pastor
- climate change
- diary
- minister
- +22 more
Awards & recognition
- National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Cast & crew
Ethan Hawke
as Pastor Ernst Toller
Amanda Seyfried
as Mary Mensana
Cedric the Entertainer
as Pastor Joel Jeffers
Victoria Hill
as Esther
Philip Ettinger
as Michael Mensana
Michael Gaston
as Edward Balq
Bill Hoag
as John Elder
Kristin Villanueva
as Nurse Cindy
Ingrid Kullberg-Bendz
as Middle-Aged Tourist
Ken Forman
as Middle-Aged Tourist
Directed by Paul Schrader