--- title: "First Reformed: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/first-reformed/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/first-reformed" critics_score: 87 critics_reviews: 20 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): what the critics said Critics' score 87 from 20 reviews: 19 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. 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. ## Financial Times — Nigel Andrews Rating ★★★★★. 11 July 2018. 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 the review](https://www.ft.com/content/1e1aab88-84f7-11e8-96dd-fa565ec55929) ## Little White Lies — Hannah Strong Rating 3/5/5. 10 July 2018. 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 the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/first-reformed) ## Slant Magazine — Greg Cwik Rating 4/4. 11 May 2018. 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 the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/first-reformed/) ## Empire — Ian Freer Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 10 July 2018. 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 the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/first-reformed-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 17 May 2018. 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 the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-first-reformed-review-20180517-htmlstory.html) ## Variety — Owen Gleiberman Rating Critics Pick. 30 August 2017. Festival review. 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 the review](https://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/first-reformed-review-ethan-hawke-paul-schrader-1202542952/) ## Radio Times — Andrew Collins Rating 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 the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-js5oww/first-reformed/) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 30 August 2017. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/first-reformed-venice-review/5121701.article) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 12 July 2018. 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 the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jul/12/first-reformed-review-ethan-hawke-paul-schrader-amanda-seyfried) ## The Telegraph — Robbie Collin Rating 4/5. 12 July 2018. 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 the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/first-reformed-review-ethan-hawke-razor-sharp-addictively-weird/) ## Total Film Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 9 July 2018. 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 the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/first-reformed-review/) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 11 May 2018. 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 the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/05/21/first-reformed-and-the-seagull) ## Time Out — Joshua Rothkopf Rating 3/5. 17 May 2018. 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 the review](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 the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/review-first-reformed-paul-schrader/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy 30 August 2017. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/first-reformed-review-1032267/) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Rating NYT Critic’s Pick. 17 May 2018. 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 the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/17/movies/first-reformed-review-paul-schrader-ethan-hawke.html) ## Vulture — David Edelstein 15 May 2018. 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 the review](https://www.vulture.com/2018/05/paul-schraders-first-reformed-movie-review.html) ## /Film — Marshall Shaffer Rating 10/10. 17 September 2017. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/553367/first-reformed-review-tiff-2017/) ## HeyUGuys Rating 5/5. 4 June 2018. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/first-reformed-review-sundance-london-2018/) ## The Skinny — Philip Concannon Rating ★★★★★. 2 July 2018. 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 the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/first-reformed) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating A-. 17 May 2018. 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 the review](https://collider.com/first-reformed-review/) ## Den of Geek — Don Kaye Rating 4.5/5. 19 May 2018. 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 the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/first-reformed-review-ethan-hawkes-finest-work/) ## The Playlist — Rodrigo Perez Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 August 2017. Festival review. 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 the review](https://theplaylist.net/paul-schraders-first-reformed-review-20170831/) ## The Ringer — Adam Nayman Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 20 May 2018. 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 the review](https://www.theringer.com/2018/05/20/movies/first-reformed-ethan-hawke-review) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/first-reformed.md