Paul Schrader to direct First Reformed with Ethan Hawke & Amanda Seyfried

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

I like Paul Schrader. Even if he never made another movie ever, he'd still be (rightfully) heralded for his work as the screenwriter for Martin Scorsese's TAXI DRIVER alone. But he continued with more classic collaborations with Scorsese (like RAGING BULL and LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST), as well as his own directorial efforts like HARDCORE and AMERICAN GIGALO. 

While his latest films haven't been the greatest (haven't seen DOG EAT DOG, but DYING OF THE LIGHT and THE CANYONS were, in my opinion, pretty dire), that doesn't mean we can count him out just yet.

This brings us to his new film FIRST REFORMED, starring Ethan Hawke and Amanda Seyfried. Here's the synopsis:

An ex-military chaplain TOLLER (Ethan Hawke) who is tortured by the loss of a son he encouraged to enlist in the armed forces. As Toller struggles with his faith, he is further challenged after befriending a young parishioner, MARY (Amanda Seyfried), and her radical environmentalist husband MICHAEL. He soon discovers hidden secrets of his church's complicity with unscrupulous corporations.

I'm intrigued. I like films that deal with corruption, especially it involves military or religious conspiracies (unless, it's like THE DA VINCI CODE or something). And I feel Schrader is a writer-director who, at his best, pulls no punches and gets to the nitty-gritty of the situation. Here's hoping this is more HARDCORE and less CANYONS.

FIRST REFORMED is currently in preproduction with no release date set. 

So what's your guys' favorite Schrader film (as writer or director)?