First Reformed

A haunting reckoning of faith and the climate crisis

A criminally underseen masterpiece from (Michigan native!) Paul Schrader, one of the absolute best from 2018. The story follows a priest of a small church (Ethan Hawke, who should have won an Oscar for his performance), who is thrown into a conflict of faith and nihilism after counseling a climate activist. Asking immense questions about our Earth, humans' role in it, and theism as a whole, First Reformed is an absolute triumph thematically and stylistically. Fair warning: probably the most bleak movie I've ever seen! Enjoy!