---
title: "First Reformed"
year: 2018
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/first-reformed"
fi1m_id: "first-reformed"
imdb_id: "tt6053438"
tmdb_id: 458737
wikidata_id: "Q28956599"
fi1m_score: 86
critics_score: 87
critics_reviews: 20
published: "2026-09-16"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:37.684054+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# First Reformed (2018)

Directed by Paul Schrader · 1h 53m · MPA R · Drama

## Identity

First Reformed

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/first-reformed
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** first-reformed
- **IMDb ID:** tt6053438
- **TMDB ID:** 458737
- **Wikidata ID:** Q28956599
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6053438/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/458737, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q28956599

**Fi1m score: 86** · Critics 87 from 20 reviews

*In a sentence:* Ethan Hawke makes offering reassurance look like the hardest job in the parish

> Ethan Hawke makes Paul Schrader’s severe drama about faith and environmental despair quietly frightening. We recommend it for the performance and the patient filmmaking, with a caveat about a screenplay that sometimes presses its accusations too hard.

## Synopsis

In present-day upstate New York, Pastor Ernst Toller (Ethan Hawke) struggles to carry out his duties while his own faith falters. Mary Mensana (Amanda Seyfried), a pregnant parishioner, brings fears about the planet’s future into his pastoral life. He tries to offer comfort, but guilt and self-medication complicate the task. Fellow minister Pastor Joel Jeffers (Cedric the Entertainer) represents a church whose relationship with corporate power raises further questions. Faced with environmental despair, Toller must consider what hope he can honestly offer and how far his responsibilities extend beyond the people in front of him.

## Review

*First Reformed* is a gripping drama about a pastor whose ability to comfort others is wearing out, and we recommend it with one reservation: Paul Schrader occasionally makes his case too bluntly. Pastor Ernst Toller, played by Ethan Hawke, is struggling with faith, guilt and environmental despair. The film asks what a minister can honestly offer when the future looks intolerable and his own church is implicated in the harm. Paul Schrader gives that question long, quiet scenes in which to become uncomfortable.

Ethan Hawke’s performance is the reason that severity does not become an exercise. He keeps Toller’s distress close to the surface without making him seem eager to disclose it, and his composure grows harder to watch as we recognise the effort involved. We felt anxious watching him keep his expression under control, because he seemed to be exhausting himself simply by remaining present. This is a minister we can believe would take another person’s suffering seriously. We can also see how poorly equipped he is to bear much more of it.

Alexander Dynan’s cinematography favours firm geometric compositions and long fixed-camera scenes. The camera gives us time to examine Toller, then keeps us there after a more accommodating film might have moved on. Grace Yun’s restrained production design suits that approach, leaving the people exposed to prolonged attention. The spareness works because there is something to study within it, especially the small adjustments in Ethan Hawke’s face. We never found the stillness empty, although we can understand why someone else might find it punishing.

Editor Ben Rodriguez Jr. respects the length of those scenes instead of trying to manufacture pace around them. Conversations have enough time for a troubling thought to linger, and the pauses make it harder to treat the questions as somebody else’s problem. Brian Williams’s music adds to the disquiet without making the severity feel grand. It is an effective choice for a film in which spiritual distress could easily invite musical overstatement. The concentration remains on a man struggling to decide what his beliefs require of him.

The weakness lies in Paul Schrader’s screenplay, which sometimes pushes the connection between religious authority, corporate influence and environmental damage too firmly. The film’s anger is understandable, but we are not always given enough room to question the way it assigns responsibility. Some passages feel arranged to secure our agreement before the people in them have had a chance to complicate the case. Its more extravagant choices are also less convincing than the patient scrutiny of Toller. These are meaningful reservations, particularly in a film asking difficult questions, and we would have welcomed less certainty about where some of the answers lie.

Yet a drama about a crisis of faith ought to make belief feel difficult, and this one does. Environmental fear cannot simply be set aside so that Toller can return to his proper work; it makes him reconsider what that work is. That keeps the film pressing on a practical question, even when its methods grow forceful: how does someone offer hope without being dishonest? At 113 minutes, it deserves an uninterrupted sitting, with the patience to let a face hold our attention. Do not choose it because a quiet film sounds restful.

*Fi1m score 86, published 16 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics greet First Reformed as a forceful return to form for Schrader, praising its serious treatment of faith, environmental despair and the church’s relationship with money. Praise centres on Ethan Hawke’s controlled, anguished performance as a pastor in crisis. The reviews also admire the stark compositions, sustained stillness and precise direction, finding considerable intensity in the film’s restraint. Many see familiar Schrader concerns given renewed urgency rather than simply revisited.

The disagreement concerns how far that control carries the film when it becomes more audacious. The Guardian finds the ending implausible, while the Financial Times particularly admires its boldness. The Hollywood Reporter values the intellectual seriousness but finds the drama schematic and visually limited. Enthusiasm dominates, though it is not uniform: Time Out offers the clearest dissent, arguing that the sombre approach feels dutiful and the spiritual unravelling too predictable.

## Straight answers

**Is First Reformed worth watching?**

*First Reformed* is worth watching for anyone prepared to sit still and study one man's face for 113 minutes, and we scored it 86. Ethan Hawke's performance as a pastor running out of comfort to give is the reason to see it, though Paul Schrader's screenplay sometimes presses its accusations about church and corporate power too hard.

**How long is First Reformed, and what is it rated?**

*First Reformed* runs 1h 53m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a drama film.

**Where can I watch First Reformed in the US?**

*First Reformed* is streaming on Netflix in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $2.99. It leaves Netflix on 8 October. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is First Reformed, and is it suitable for children?**

*First Reformed* carries a 15 certificate in the UK and an R in the US, and it is not a film for children. Its unease comes from a pastor's spiritual distress, guilt and self-medication rather than from action or gore, and we found it quietly frightening. Teenagers of fifteen and over with patience for a slow, severe drama could manage it.

**How does First Reformed compare to Calvary?**

*First Reformed* is the stiller and more severe of the two, watching Ethan Hawke's pastor in long fixed shots, while [*Calvary*](https://film.one/film/calvary) gives Brendan Gleeson's priest a week to live and a parish full of people written to provoke him. *Calvary* is the warmer and more talkative film, but its parishioners are its weakness; we think *First Reformed* is the more disciplined work, if the harder sitting.

**What should I watch after First Reformed?**

After *First Reformed*, try [*Winter Light*](https://film.one/film/winter-light) (1963, Fi1m 88): Another pastor faces despair, with little comfort available between the silences. Then [*Diary of a Country Priest*](https://film.one/film/diary-of-a-country-priest) (1951, Fi1m 84): Small parish duties become exhausting tests of belief, patience and bodily endurance; and [*The Ascent*](https://film.one/film/the-ascent) (1977, Fi1m 88): Faith and moral responsibility tested under pressure, with no interest in easy reassurance.

### Reviews we read (24)

- **Financial Times**, Nigel Andrews (★★★★★): Andrews calls it Schrader's best film in decades and a zinger fusing radical-gothic and gonzo-Christian modes. He singles out the visionary hallucinatory sequence and bold ending for particular admiration. [Read](https://www.ft.com/content/1e1aab88-84f7-11e8-96dd-fa565ec55929)
- **Little White Lies**, Hannah Strong (3/5/5): Schrader returns to spiritual territory with a personal, despairing portrait of a pastor confronting capitalism, climate crisis and his own faith. Hawke delivers a mesmerising career-best performance in this austere, bold climax that divides but impresses. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/first-reformed)
- **Slant Magazine**, Greg Cwik (4/4): The critic hails the film as a culmination of Schrader’s career and a paean to slow cinema referencing Ozu, Bresson, and Dreyer. It is praised for its controlled bleakness, geometric style, and renewed faith in cinema amid themes of spirituality and environmental despair. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/first-reformed/)
- **Empire**, Ian Freer (85/100, inferred): The film marks a blistering return to form for Schrader, blending character study, expressionism and exploitation elements into an uncompromising meditation on faith and doubt in the modern world. Ethan Hawke delivers a career-highlight performance as the tormented priest. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/first-reformed-review/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (85/100, inferred): The bracing film resurrects Schrader’s career with a superb Ethan Hawke performance as a pastor confronting climate despair and church hypocrisy. It begins in quiet introspection and builds to a crescendo of political rage in an exquisite yet blunt work. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-first-reformed-review-20180517-htmlstory.html)
- **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (Critics Pick): Schrader pours his obsessions into a grindhouse art film blending Bresson austerity with pulp violence, following a reverend tempted by suicide bombing. It is a testament to the director’s style—programmatic yet fascinating, with an over-the-top climax that keeps viewers hooked. [Read](https://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/first-reformed-review-ethan-hawke-paul-schrader-1202542952/)
- **Radio Times**, Andrew Collins (4/5): A restrained, powerful return to form for Schrader, with Hawke excellent as a thoughtful, self-medicating pastor questioning his conscience and the church amid environmental and personal crises. Masterly control and long fixed-camera scenes build to a late tonal shift hinting at earlier triumphs. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-js5oww/first-reformed/)
- **Screen Daily** (80/100, inferred): Thoughtful, moving and uncompromising, Schrader’s tormented character study belongs to Hawke’s impassioned, agonised portrayal of a minister grappling with faith, environmental concerns and personal despair. It recalls Taxi Driver and Light Sleeper but risks not always paying off. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/first-reformed-venice-review/5121701.article)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (80/100, inferred): Bradshaw calls it a powerful, austerely made drama of spiritual ordeal building to apocalypse. He singles out Ethan Hawke's unflinching conviction as the tormented priest for particular praise while noting the ending feels preposterous. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jul/12/first-reformed-review-ethan-hawke-paul-schrader-amanda-seyfried)
- **The Telegraph**, Robbie Collin (4/5): Collin hails it as Schrader's best film in decades, a ferocious spiritual thriller recapturing end-times desolation. He singles out Hawke's superb performance in a Bressonian holy loner role and the film's timely critique of religion and business. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/first-reformed-review-ethan-hawke-razor-sharp-addictively-weird/)
- **Total Film** (80/100, inferred): Schrader delivers his best work in two decades with this austere yet intense study of one man's spiritual crisis and an apocalyptic vision of humanity's fate. The contemplative drama gains power from its stark compositions and shifts into surprising intensity. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/first-reformed-review/)
- **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (75/100, inferred): The film centers on a pastor drawn into ecoterrorism amid themes of faith, environmental doom, and a pregnant parishioner. It blends belief in God and saving the world in a dark, present-day drama with apocalyptic undertones. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/05/21/first-reformed-and-the-seagull)
- **Time Out**, Joshua Rothkopf (3/5): Schrader returns to familiar ground with a meditative tale of a pastor racked by guilt and existential crisis, echoing his earlier work like Taxi Driver. The sombre Bresson-like mode appeals to superfans but feels like dutiful old-school Schrader with a telegraphed unraveling of faith. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/first-reformed)
- **Film Comment**, Aliza Ma: The critic praises the film as a taut, meditative work about the struggle for faith and grace amid modern despair and environmental crisis. Schrader's direction creates an otherworldly stillness while engaging urgently with contemporary issues. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/review-first-reformed-paul-schrader/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Todd McCarthy: The critic calls it Schrader’s most effective work as a director since Auto Focus but a direly bleak affair. It is praised for its intellectual seriousness and Hawke’s committed performance but faulted for being schematic with insufficient visual dynamism. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/first-reformed-review-1032267/)
- **The New York Times**, A.O. Scott (NYT Critic’s Pick): The critic sees the film as a fresh discovery and epiphany for Schrader, a rigorous portrait of a soul in torment. It achieves uncanny directness through influences from Bresson and Dreyer while centering on a minister's unraveling in upstate New York. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/17/movies/first-reformed-review-paul-schrader-ethan-hawke.html)
- **Vulture**, David Edelstein: The critic admires the film’s austere examination of faith and morality as the result of Schrader entering a bold stage in his career. It is praised for Hawke’s feverish commitment and its rigorous style despite some elements bordering on the ludicrous. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2018/05/paul-schraders-first-reformed-movie-review.html)
- **/Film**, Marshall Shaffer (10/10): Schrader crafts a modern masterpiece and essential parable about the church's role in addressing moral and political crises in the present day. It powerfully challenges viewers through the internal journey of a tormented priest grappling with faith and injustice. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/553367/first-reformed-review-tiff-2017/)
- **HeyUGuys** (5/5): The film marks a strong return to form for Schrader, anchored by a career-best Ethan Hawke performance as a priest in crisis. It explores faith, environmental crisis, and corporate influence on the church through a gripping, ambiguous narrative. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/first-reformed-review-sundance-london-2018/)
- **The Skinny**, Philip Concannon (★★★★★): The critic calls the film a passionate, intelligent and audacious study that channels Bresson and Bergman while addressing today's environmental crises through a priest's deepening despair. Schrader's precise direction and the gripping final act are highlighted as masterful. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/first-reformed)
- **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (A-): The critic calls it a profound, powerful, and deeply disturbing examination of broken faith reconstructed with madness and despair. Hawke's lead performance is singled out as Oscar-worthy for its subtlety and conviction. [Read](https://collider.com/first-reformed-review/)
- **Den of Geek**, Don Kaye (4.5/5): The review hails the film as Schrader's sharpest in years and Hawke's finest work, lauding the intense exploration of faith, loss, and redemption through an austere, unadorned style. Hawke's performance as the tormented pastor is singled out for its profound depth and haunting nuance. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/first-reformed-review-ethan-hawkes-finest-work/)
- **The Playlist**, Rodrigo Perez (90/100, inferred): Schrader delivers a career-defining work that distills a lifetime of themes into a stark, rigorous meditation on faith, sin, and redemption. It is a profound, hopeful statement on devotion and moral hypocrisy, enhanced by a haunting score and strong performances. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/paul-schraders-first-reformed-review-20170831/)
- **The Ringer**, Adam Nayman (90/100, inferred): The critic hails it as one of the best films of the year and some of Schrader's finest work, a brilliant morality play mixing austerity with audacity. Hawke's subtle, controlled performance as the tormented priest is singled out for praise. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2018/05/20/movies/first-reformed-ethan-hawke-review)

## Details

- **Director:** Paul Schrader
- **Director:** Paul Schrader
- **Writer:** Paul Schrader
- **Cinematography:** Alexander Dynan
- **Editor:** Ben Rodriguez Jr.
- **Music:** Brian Williams
- **Production design:** Grace Yun
- **Costume design:** Olga Mill
- **Producer:** Jack Binder, Greg Clark, Gary Hamilton
- **Cast:** 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
- **Runtime:** 1h 53m
- **Certificate (MPA):** R
- **Release (the US):** 8 June 2018
- **Genres:** Drama
- **Budget:** $4 million
- **Box office:** $4 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCF5Y8dQpR4

## Where to watch in the US

- Netflix: streaming, leaving 2026-10-08
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $2.99, sd
- Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy $12.99, sd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $12.99, sd

*Checked 2026-09-16.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, HU, IE, IL, IN, IT, JP, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, SE, TH, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Winter Light* (1963), Fi1m 88: Another pastor faces despair, with little comfort available between the silences. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/winter-light.md)
- *Diary of a Country Priest* (1951), Fi1m 84: Small parish duties become exhausting tests of belief, patience and bodily endurance. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/diary-of-a-country-priest.md)
- *Safe* (1995): Environmental dread becomes frighteningly intimate through a performance that refuses easy explanation.
- *The Ascent* (1977), Fi1m 88: Faith and moral responsibility tested under pressure, with no interest in easy reassurance. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-ascent.md)
- *Calvary* (2014), Fi1m 81: A priest’s daily rounds expose wounds that piety cannot simply talk away. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/calvary.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/first-reformed