To be blunt, “First Reformed” wasn’t very good. There is a large disconnect between this film’s high Rotten Tomatoes rating and what I watched on my screen last night. This slow-moving character study had a lot of aspects that could have made it great and they all fell flat. First, everything in the film is underplayed. The film opens with the main character keeping a journal but this seemingly important plot device isn’t even mentioned in the last twenty minutes of the film. There is also a severe lack of emotion for something as devastating as a minister whose faith is slipping away and a pregnant woman dealing with the suicide of a loved on. Ethan Hawke should have given an unforgettable, emotional performance. He has received critical acclaim and I love just about every role that he’s ever played, but his acting was two-dimensional. Some of his character’s ideas change throughout the film but I don’t feel that he embodied the change. Amanda Seyfried may have been trying to portray a numb, frail person but it comes off as if she isn’t even trying to act. There is also the screenplay that takes an interesting concept and portrays it in the least interesting way possible. I have never seen cancer portrayed in such an inconsequential fashion. It seems that “First Reformed” is this year’s Oscar tribute for lifetime achievement and not this particular screenplay. Paul Schrader has been involved in many important films throughout the years and it is illogical that this is his work that is most deserving of a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination. It is unfathomable that this film beat out “Eighth Grade” for the nomination. The only part of this film that I enjoyed was the surreal floating scene, which didn’t even fit in with the rest of the film. I don’t know what the critics are thinking but “First Reformed” is one of the least impressive films that I have seen in the past year.
[Pictured: Actually me for the entire duration of the movie]
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