I say it was ultimately aggravating because this film turned out to be not what I was expecting. It was the log line that initially attracted me to the box office. The movie was allegedly about a small town pastor with a dying church that is up against one of this big box mega-cathedrals. Okay, I am curious as my own church has dwindled in number and struggled to survive.
And, for the first hour or so, I am seeing the story I expected. Ethan Hawke plays Reverend Toller, a lonely man dealing with his own failing health along with his failing chapel. Okay, the film is a tad slow moving. Okay, it crawls along like Adrian Gonzalez used to do on the base paths for the Dodgers. But I am mildly intrigued.
And then the tone shifts. Suddenly. Harshly. Inexplicably. Annoyingly. Not wanting to give anything in the event you are a masochist and want to see this thing, but the last 45 minutes or so becomes an updated version of "Taxi Driver." And you are absolutely confused. To make matters worse, the final scene stops suddenly just like the last moments of the Sopranos' series finale. Did the film break? Did the projectionist forget to change the reel? Nope, after about a twenty second lapse into complete darkness, the credits drearily rolled.
WTF.
Had I done more homework before I went to this ungodly swill, I would have seen that "First Reformed" was written and directed by Paul Schrader. This guy's been around for decades and each one of his works is darker than the last. And, wait...what's that I see as one of his earliest credits? He wrote the script for...ta da..."Taxi Driver."
Which Psalm is the one that says "thou can't teach a dog new tricks?"
LEN'S RATING: One-and-a-half stars.
Dinner last night: Sausage pizza at Stella Barra,
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