Page - 139 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 05/01

James Lorenz Film Review First Reformed (Paul Schrader, US 2017) Most of the initial critical response to Paul Schrader’s latest film has largely ig- nored the elephant in the room: the extensive influence of Journal d’un curé de campagne (Diary of a Country Priest, Robert Bresson, FR 1951) and Natt- vardsgästerna (Winter Light, Ingmar Bergman, SE 1963) on the film. This re- view seeks to remedy this failing by analysing First Reformed through an em- phasis on its relationship with these two films. This approach functions on three levels, which this review will explore sequentially: narrative, thematic concern and form. The plot of First Reformed is best summarised by considering these two ma- jor influences. Indeed, Schrader’s pastiche of these two films is to transpose Bresson’s protagonist from Diary of a Country Priest into the scenario that challenges Bergman’s protagonist at the beginning of Winter Light: Ernst Toller (Ethan Hawke) is Schrader’s conflicted minister and, like Bresson’s priest, he suffers simultaneously from a crisis of faith and from stomach pain caused by cancer. The events of the film are set in motion when – just as in Winter Light – a young wife brings her reluctant husband to Toller for counselling. Whereas Bergman’s troubled husband despairs at the threat of nuclear war, Schrader’s husband, Michael (Philip Ettinger), is an eco-activist tormented by the threat of climate change. With prophetic urgency, he argues that it is immoral to bring a child into the world because an environmental cataclysm is imminent. Bent on this apocalyptic vision, he reveals he wants his pregnant wife, Mary (Amanda Seyfried), to abort their unborn child. From this point in the narrative, Schrader documents the events of the next few weeks, leading up to the climactic dedication service for his church. Central to this narrative is Toller’s own struggle with faith and his theological beliefs, as well as the instability of various personal issues, such as his relationship with a colleague with whom he once shared a romantic past. The catalyst for all of this is Toller’s encounter with environmental activism, his theological interpretation of the ecological crisis and his conflict with the worldly forces that are simul- taneously responsible for this crisis and for the financing of his church. Over these weeks, two more events occur that trigger Toller’s unravelling. First, Mary discovers a suicide vest that it appears her husband intends to use in an act of DOI: 10.25364/05.4:2019.1.11 Film Review: First Reformed | 139www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/1