Faith in Films

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE FILM FIRST REFORMED, DIRECTED BY PAUL SCHRADER

I would like to preface this by saying that I am not a religious or faithful person. While it is something that I have been around, and I interact regularly with people who are faithful, it is not a significant portion of my life. This post is not meant to speak directly about faith, my feelings on it, or my own experiences with and around it. Also, the title of this post is a little bit of a lie, as I will be touching mainly on one film, First Reformed. Written and directed by Paul Schrader, and starring Ethan Hawke as Ernst Toller and Amanda Seyfried as Mary Mensana, the film follows a pastor who begins questioning his faith amidst numerous personal situations that weigh on his psyche, and one of the attendees at his church. I don’t know if this is more of a review for the film, or if it serves more of a personal analysis. I know I am a little late on it as it had its wide release in 2018, but there are always tons of movies coming out and it is hard to see all of them. Plus, I’m not sure how thrilled 16-year-old me would have been to watch a slow, sullen treatise on how faith and environmental activism may intertwine. I am glad I got to this film eventually though, as while it is very heavy thematically and plot-wise, it felt incredibly rewarding and it will likely reveal even more to me through repeat viewings. 

The cinematography, led by Alexander Dynan, was gorgeous. The film is full of prolonged shots, drawing us into the lives of these characters and planting us firmly in the setting. Some shots, such as following Toller and Mary’s bike ride, stretch on for longer than a minute, slowly tracking these characters through their setting. This helps to keep the film grounded, and grant it more of a sense of realism by not granting us any reprieve, any rest from whatever uncomfortable topics or scenes there may be. This is especially prevalent in the scene where Toller discovers Michael Mensada’s body following his suicide; there are no cutaways, nothing to take us from focusing on the sadness and despair at hand. The usage of the aspect ratio was reportedly used to “get more of the human body in the frame,” and it works to beautiful effect. This is a film dominated by the characters, and the way that it is shot allows them ample space to be able to flesh out these people. These shots, drawn out and encapsulating the mundanities of the locale, bring out some humanity. This is a place where we can imagine ourselves, not so basic that it seems boring, but rather familiar and comforting.

Music is used very sparingly throughout the film; there are periodic drones that will pop in during big moments, such as when Toller is looking through the photographs he found at Michael’s home. They begin as a murmur, sneaking in from the background before forming a wall that surrounds the characters, evoking a sense of dread to go along with what we are seeing. Between this and the periodic stabs of the organ while in the church, the soundtrack consists of a collage of ambient sounds. They form waves, colliding and disappearing over and over, coinciding with the waves of emotion both the characters and we, the viewers, experience throughout this story. The subtle chirps of birds and the way the foundation of houses shift as people move throughout them. This is the soundtrack to our days as we live our lives, so it is fitting that they would help to coordinate the days of these characters. There are periods of emptiness throughout, granting a hollow feeling to these rooms. The people walking through them, notably Toller, are merely ghosts. Husks of who they used to be, ruined and torn apart by the circumstances that brought them here, such as Toller’s death of his son and following divorce, or in Mary’s case, Michael’s suicide.

A lot of the film’s overarching story focuses on the reconsecration of the church for its 250th anniversary. I find there are parallels to be drawn between this and the development of Toller as a character; it serves as a metaphor for his own personal reckoning, with the day of the event serving as the same day where it seems that he finally stops grappling with his issues of faith and starts leaning into a new life. The most notable parallel, however, can be drawn between Toller and Michael. When we are first greeted by these characters, both are grappling with their own personal reckoning, both due to past situations and current. Toller has to deal with the collapse of his body due to his apparent stomach cancer, while Michael is fighting against the collapse of the world around him, as an environmental activist. Both of these sanctuaries are being destroyed by those who are meant to take care of it; in Michael’s case, he is nothing but a witness, unable to do anything about it despite his attempts. Toller, however, is cognizant of the steps he could take to improve things, but chooses the opposite even at the wishes of the doctor. Shortly following his check-up at the hospital, when he is asked to stop drinking, he is seen pouring himself another drink in apparent disregard. Not only is he not taking care of himself, he has put up walls to prevent those around from helping him, much like Michael did as well. The key difference comes at the end; while Michael took his life, Toller was stopped by the presence of someone else, allowing Mary into his struggles in a way that Michael was never able to since he had come back from prison. His reunion and saving by Mary serves another purpose. We see Toller wrap himself in the barbed wire and put on his alb overtop it before he drinks the drain cleaner, with the wire apparently still being on him during the embrace between the two characters. This embrace causes him pain, as allowing her to come to him has damaged not only him, but a piece of his life as well. And yet, this damage and destruction that is caused to him and all he knows may have been necessary in allowing him to carry on. When you’re caught in a bear trap, sometimes you have to lose a limb to save your life. 

I was thrilled with my experience with this movie, despite not having much of a religious background to focus and reflect on myself. The dialogue felt very real, and the characters and world felt fleshed out to the point that it felt ripped right out of somebody’s diary. I’m no filmmaker or anything of the sort, but I was also particularly impressed by the technical aspects of this film, especially with them being far from the priority in a story like this. It felt like not a single detail was overlooked in the creation of this film, and serves as a testament to the talents of Paul Schrader. In my opinion, the strength and quality of this film places it alongside The Master and The Seventh Seal as one of the most important films on faith ever made. But that’s just my little opinion, watch it for yourself and see what you think. I guarantee you won’t regret it.