“Is it too early to call this Schrader's masterpiece?” - Hannah Strong, Little White Lies
“A tough, masterful movie.” - Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, Metro
Thursday, April 3, 6:00 p.m. | In Schrader’s revelatory tour de force, Reverend Ernest Toller (Ethan Hawke, never better) is the pastor at a small, dwindling Dutch Reformed church in upstate New York preparing to celebrate its 250th anniversary. He is troubled, haunted by the death of his son in the Iraq War, and suffering from chronic pain that he dulls with alcohol. When a pregnant parishioner asks him to counsel her husband, a radical environmentalist, Toller is plunged into a crisis of faith that leads to a stunning climax. An austere, laser-focused vision stylistically influenced by the director’s beloved Robert Bresson, FIRST REFORMED is all Schrader: a potent and provocative exploration of redemption.
Awards & Nominations
Nominee - Best Original Screenplay, Academy Awards
Winner - Best Original Screenplay, Critics Choice Awards
Winner - Best Actor (Ethan Hawke), Gotham Awards
Winner - Best Male Lead (Ethan Hawke), Film Independent Spirit Awards
Winner - Green Drop Award, Venice Film Festival
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu