First Reformed

From legendary writer-director Paul Schrader comes a gripping new film that ranks among his very best work.

Reverend Ernst Toller (Ethan Hawke) is a solitary parish priest at a small church in upstate New York, which is on the cusp of celebrating its 250th anniversary. Now more of a tourist attraction catering to a dwindling congregation, it has long been eclipsed by its nearby parent church, Abundant Life, with its state-of-the-art facilities.

When a pregnant parishioner (Amanda Seyfried) asks Reverend Toller to counsel her husband, a radical environmentalist, Toller is plunged into his own tormented past and finds himself questioning his own future and where redemption might lie.

With an outstanding cast that includes Ethan Hawke (Boyhood, Maggie’s Plan), Amanda Seyfried (Les Miserables, Twin Peaks) and Cedric Kyles (Larry Crowne, Barbershop), Schrader has delivered a thrillingly fierce film that features an utterly mesmerizing performance from Hawke in the lead role.