Ethan Hawke is having a crisis of faith in the trailer for First Reformed, a new thriller from director Paul Schrader.
In the film, Reverend Ernst Toller (Hawke) is a solitary, middle-aged parish pastor at a small Dutch Reform church in upstate New York on the cusp of celebrating its 250th anniversary. Once a stop on the Underground Railroad, the church now is a tourist attraction catering to a dwindling congregation, eclipsed by its nearby parent church, Abundant Life, with its state-of-the-art facilities and 5,000-strong flock. When a pregnant parishioner (Amanda Seyfried) asks Toller to counsel her husband, a radical environmentalist, the clergyman finds himself plunged into his own tormented past, and equally despairing future, until he finds redemption in an act of grandiose violence.
The film also stars Cedric “The Entertainer” and was picked up by A24 after debuting at last year’s Venice Film Festival. The film hits theaters on May 18 and you can check out the official trailer below:
