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Cedric the Entertainer

First Reformed – A Pastor’s Dark Night of the Soul

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“Will God forgive us?”

A pastor’s grief, guilt, and growing crisis of faith gives rise to First Reformed, from writer-director Paul Schrader. Schrader has delved into faith before in films like Hardcore and The Last Temptation of Christ (for which he wrote the screenplay). He has also sought to plumb the dark places of life with scripts such as Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. In First Reformed all of this comes together.

Ernst Toller (Ethan Hawke) is the pastor of a historic church in upstate New York. It is now little more than a tourist stop with a very small congregation. The church operates under the auspices of a nearby megachurch, Abundant Life. After church one Sunday, Mary (Amanda Seyfried), asks Toller to counsel her husband Michael (Philip Ettinger) who is severely depressed over environmental issues. Although Toller tries to lead Michael to see hope, eventually Michael succumbs to his despair. This adds to Toller’s already dark mood.

Toller had been a military chaplain and had encouraged his son to go into the military as well. After his son was killed in Iraq, Toller has lived with guilt and seems to be trying to live a life of penance. He lives a Spartan existence and seems to put off any who would seek to care for him—especially the choir director at Abundant Live (Victoria Hill) who carries a torch for him. The only person he can find any connection with in his world of darkness is Mary. As Toller’s mood continues to spiral down and his health seems to be failing as well, he decides to take a drastic action to bring attention to the environmental issues that concerned Michael.

At one level, First Reformed is a study of a crisis in faith faced by an individual. Toller’s struggle with guilt over his son, a pessimism about where the world is headed, and his failure to find happiness in life seems to have cut Toller off from any sense of God. As he journals (which we often hear in voice over) Toller says the things he writes are much like the things he says to God “when he is listening.” Through all this he must continue to serve the church week after week.

But this film also raises the question of how is the church to act faithfully in a world facing crises. Toller’s little church is about to celebrate its 250th anniversary and Abundant Life is planning a big event. One of the biggest donors is Edward Balq, an industrialist who doesn’t want global warming or the environment talked about. He wants to make sure politics are avoided in the anniversary celebration. Toller is beginning to question how the church cannot be involved in such issues. It falls on Abundant Life senior pastor, Pastor Jeffers (Cedric Kyles) to try to keep Toller in line.

What of the question of political issues in church? It should be noted that First Reformed was a waystation on the Underground Railroad. Obviously political issues have mattered here in the past. But Jeffers, although appreciating where Toller is coming from, must also try to appease those who give generously to the church. This can often be a struggle for those who believe that God’s message speaks to many of the woes that face the world. There are always those who do not want the prophetic voice of the church to be heard.

Pastor Toller’s spiritual anguish, I think, is an exaggeration of a malaise that afflicts much of the church and society. It is not a lack of faith (either for Toller or the church at large). We become so overwhelmed by the griefs and pains of life that we feel paralyzed to address the deep needs of the world around us. After all, we can barely deal with our own problems as we watch the church seeming to be in a death spiral of its own and society falling apart in anger, crudeness, and incivility. This film speaks to the struggle of how to live out the faith we hold to in a time that challenges our faith and values.

Photos courtesy of A24

The Broken Church: 1on1 with Cedric the Entertainer (FIRST REFORMED)

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First Reformed tells the story of Toller (Ethan Hawke), a former military veteran and pastor of the First Reformed Church.  Preparing to celebrate their 250th anniversary, the church has become largely ceremonial, with most parishioners having moved over to the local megachurch, led by charismatic Pastor Jeffers (Cedric the Entertainer). When tragedy strikes, Toller finds himself torn between counseling the victim’s grieving widow (Amanda Seyfried) and his own creeping personal issues. Although he’s most frequently viewed as a comedian, veteran actor Cedric the Entertainer handles the role of Pastor Jeffers with strength and humanity. When asked what interested him in this role, he insists that it was opportunity to explore his dramatic side and, more importantly, to work with legendary writer/director Paul Schrader that led him to the film.

“For me, it was the opportunity to work with such a legendary writer and director in Paul Schrader,” he starts. “[Also], when someone asks to cast me out of a comedy movie–and it’s not a comedy, you know, it’s a dramatic role–it’s always something because I have a theatrical background, even though I built my brand as this comedian. I love to get on the screen and find things and really dig into a character. So, this was a break to be able to work with Ethan Hawke and then with Paul as well. I didn’t have any scenes with Amanda, but she was there.”

In fact, what most excited Cedric about the chance to work with the legendary director was Schrader’s ability to find depth in the humanity of his characters.

“In this particular script, it is the kind of empathy that he’s able to find in the despair and discovery that people have as human beings,” he reflects. “Right when we’re the most confident, we’re also the most vulnerable. Right when we should be at our greatest, we can easily on the turn of a dime be at our lowest. There was something about this [film] where…  religion in this movie was the main backdrop–the spiritual life–yet he kind of pulled the layer back, even [in] Ethan Hawke’s character, who’s going through a lot. But my character [is] playing a pastor of a big megachurch, where we got thirty thousand followers, and church is being held at the old basketball theater. Why is that necessary for my spiritual existence, right?”

“And now to see [Toller and say], I believe in this guy, trust this guy and put my faith in him. Then I kind of pull back the layer and remind him that it’s a business. [My character]’s got corporate donors and he’s listening to them over what we want to do. That’s really real and that’s when you do question all of these things that we have to live within the world that are these kind of big tent poles of religion or politics, education and medicine. We kind of just follow along them, knowing that we’re kind of being guided by this big corporate idea of what it is and we tell you what you believe. That was an interesting thing to play.”

In Reformed, Cedric plays Pastor Jeffers, the jovial but burdened minister at the Abundant Life megachurch. In preparation for the role, Cedric went to speak with several well-known megachurch pastors in order to find out how they manage the balance between spiritual leader and corporate figurehead.

“I’m friends with Bishop TD Jakes, who has a huge church with a big following, and also great friends with another minister in St Louis, Freddy Clark. We would sit and just kind of talk about his world. What’s it like? It is this thing where you are the spiritual leader. You do have all these people that come to you from all walks of life because of family circumstances and look at you from the pulpit on Sunday morning as the person with all the answers, right? They assume you have every answer to their life and that, in that Bible or text that you’re going to say, you’re going to give them a bit of knowledge that’s going to solve it all for them… Yet, once you close the hymnals and you say, ‘Amen’, now [Jeffers has] to run this big building. I’ve got a staff. I’ve got land. I’ve got real estate taxes. I’ve got things that are just as important to me as your soul, because in order to have all of this, we had to raise a certain amount of money. We have to provide these programs. So, it was interesting to see someone have to do that and still be a human and at the end, and have frailties and faults… and things that, if everybody saw them, it would be like seeing the Wizard [of Oz]. Like, they’d say ‘Oh wow, you’re just a person.’”

By placing Toller and Jeffers up against one another, Schrader creates a fascinating tension between the two men and their opposing values. However, Cedric believes that much of their differences are a result of the communities around them.

“Toller needs to suffer. He takes it all on… He’s a minister in a kind of a church that doesn’t really have parishioners. It’s kind of a ceremonial kind of place. It’s been around 250 years. So, he spends a lot of time alone and even though he’s supposed to be a leader of people and one that helps, it’s in that loneliness that one finds that they can jump into the despair of their own existence and decide that they haven’t suffered enough. That’s the difference. I think that, because [Jeffers] is in a big organization, I’m constantly being protected or being driven to have to be something on a daily basis.” 

In one of the more interesting (and unexpected) aspects of the film, Schrader inserts a conversation regarding the environment and the responsibility of the church within the narrative that forces Jeffers to make some difficult decisions. Even so, Cedric feels that his character is torn between caring for Toller’s humanity and maintaining his church financially.

Says Cedric, “I think from the point of view of the megachurch, you try to look at things in a bigger picture and not so much in the micro. So, I think that, even when dealing with the character Ed Balq who was the big industrialist in the movie and he’s a big donor for me. [At one moment,] I have to kind of bark at Toller and I want to defend him. It was a thing that Paul didn’t necessarily want because he wanted that he needed Ed to challenge him. But if you listen very briefly, I tell him, ‘Ed…’ I just say his name, [as if to tell him to] bring it down. I felt like that’s the part that you don’t get about Jeffers is that [he] understands what [Ed does] for [him] but, as a human, [he] understands [Toller] too. So, he would accept your donation from this organization, so I can accept the fact that you’re going to maybe kill a few people but, with that sacrifice, I may have the opportunity to save thousands. That’s what Jefferies looks at.

While Toller and Jeffers’ relationship remains strained at times throughout the film, Cedric also believes that there is a genuine friendship between the two characters.

“Imagine being an administrator of one of these kind of big churches where you’re the head honcho and to have someone that you are passionate about as a human… and they make you have to deal with your humanity,” he reflects. “They raise a question that you haven’t had an answer in a long time. The fact that he would even challenge Ed Balq [shows that Toller] is a person that puts some energy back into you… That is a friendship that I need. Right? Because that’s a person that makes you ask a question when you don’t have to have questions. All you give away as answers (in your opinion) because you’re the king. And that is something that me and Ethan, in our couple of our rehearsal days, we discovered a relationship where we knew each other and that there was a real friendship there, even though I’m communicating like boss to subordinate. It’s this thing that we wanted to make sure that people felt like they actually could be better friends. They probably are friends.”

In light of his financial dealings, it would not be difficult to judge Jeffers for his actions. Nevertheless, Cedric still believes that his character is a good man, despite his compromises.

“I would say yes, to the degree that he is a man that’s trying to do good,” he begins. “In the process of that, do I have to do some bad things? Maybe. But, overall, Jeffers is trying to do good, even when he speaks to Toller and he’s trying to get him to understand that [he’s] always living in the garden. [He tells him that he’s] always where the despair is… When you do that, you make the choice sometimes to leave people behind. You make the choice that maybe you will have an extra glass of communion wine, but it doesn’t make you a bad guy. I found that with some of the guys I studied. We met at a cigar lounge and you go, ‘Well, do you smoke cigars? Is that right or wrong?’ Yeah, I’ll have a cigar. I have a glass of wine… I may even use language amongst certain friends, you know. But again, this is all in that part of being a human as opposed to literally try to live on the pedestal that people put you on.”

Despite the film’s controversial exploration of modern day religion, Cedric was still surprised at some of the backlash that he experienced during the film’s production.

“Early on, as we were scouting locations, we had to speak with several pastors and it was the question of the subject matter that made one of the bigger churches [nervous],” he remembers. “I was friends with them. I called them personally and they made this choice that was very Jeffers, I felt. They made a choice to say ‘No, you can’t shoot this movie here because we think that it may put a blemish on what we sell as a religious belief. We don’t want to sell that. And it was like this is not your church. We just need the location. But for them it felt like maybe people would see their lead minister as the same kind of guy. It [seemed like they didn’t] want to raise that question. They actually wanted script approval. It got crazy.”

For full audio of our conversation with Cedric the Entertainer, click here.

 First Reformed is in theaters now.

When Film Confronts Faith: 1on1 with Paul Schrader (FIRST REFORMED)

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Written and directed by the legendary Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, The Last Temptation of Christ), First Reformedtells the story of Reverend Toller (Ethan Hawke), a pastor of a small church in upstate New York. After an encounter with an unstable congregant and his pregnant wife leaves him shaken, Toller finds himself embroiled in an environmental controversy that involves the local megachurch. His faith waning and his body slowly succumbing to illness and addiction, Toller is forced to re-examine all of his beliefs and how they connect in today’s culture. Having grown up within the church setting, Schrader believes that his upbringing has often affected how he interacts with cinema.

“I was raised in the church, a product of Christian school system. So, we didn’t see movies. Those weren’t allowed. So, I got sort of interested in movies at the college level and, [more specifically,] serious movies like European cinema of the sixties, and Bergman. That’s sort of how I got interested. I wrote a book [titled Transcendence in Film] about spirituality in cinema at that time because I was a film critic. Then, I drifted into the commercial cinema and got obsessed with the attractions of action, empathy and psychological realism of sexuality and made movies in that vein and did the devil’s work for many decades.”

Despite his upbringing within the church, Schrader has never been interested in delving into his spiritual history onscreen. However, once his mind was changed, he also felt that the First Reformed came together quite quickly.

“I never thought I would make a spiritual film,” he claims. “I never did. People would ask about it and I said, no, I’m not gonna go there… Now, [though] you can afford to do these kinds of films. In the past, I couldn’t afford to do it. It wouldn’t be cost effective to make this kind of film in America… I knew it was time to turn [my] hand to write a spiritual film. Once I made that decision, then the particulars of the film started coming into my mind. I drew upon the films in the genre that I had known and loved and then sort of glued them together with the glue of Taxi Driver”.

With this in mind, one of Schrader’s deep passions remains the exploration of spirituality in film. While many associate this idea with either basic ‘faith-based’ movies or religious themes within their narratives, he believes that genuine transcendent filmmaking goes much deeper than that by inviting the viewer to meditate upon the moment.

“When you talk about spirituality in film (which is different than religion), you’re talking about withholding devices. You’re talking about devices that come from the field of contemplation and meditation. There is no fast way to meditate. That’s when you start pulling away from the viewer, withholding certain things that they expect, [whether it’s] cutting patterns, music, all of this stuff. [When you do that], you’re inviting them to lean forward. A normal movie is all over you and desperate for your attention. It has its hands all over your body, on your throat, and saying, ‘Love me, love me. Here’s some music. You’ll love this music. There were some cool shots. Here’s a pretty girl. Here’s a fast car. Have an explosion. Love me, love me, love me!’ It’s exhausting and you don’t have to do a thing.”

“Now, you get the opposite kind of feeling with holy film. It’s leaning away from you. It’s saying, ‘I know you think you’re going to see this, but you’re not. I know you think that when a character walks off street, you’re going to see where they go, well, maybe you’re not. Maybe we’re going to just watch the empty room for a while.’ Even when nothing is happening, something is happening because the viewer is watching and it’s something that’s happening inside of the viewer.”

In light of this, Schrader argues that this sense of spiritual challenge to the viewer remains front and center in First Reformed.

“[For example], if you use a classic holding device like when somebody walks out the door, the door closes, breaks down, we go one, two, three now you’re… Your eye never does that. But you’re in a movie theater and the guy says, okay, let’s watch the door for a few seconds before we do something else. Well, what’s going on in your head? So that is how you start playing that passive aggressive game, getting them to lean forward. And the dangerous line you dance on is when you start using these was holding devices. If you are, [the viewer] can do one of two things: he can start to lean in toward you (in which case you’ve got your goal) or he can get up and leave the theater. So, if you look at the way that First Reformedopens, it’s almost saying to you, ‘If you’re not ready for this, would you please leave right now?’If it’s going to be too slow for you, just leave now and let the rest of us stay.”

With Reformed, Schrader’s exploration of spirituality challenges the viewer, not only through its style, but also its themes. For instance, whereas many films about the church opt to place their emphasis in hope through faith, Reformedinstead chooses not to shy away from Toller’s own failing faith and the impact it has on his ministry. According to Schrader, it was this sense of spiritual blockage that he was most interested in exploring throughout the film.

“He has a sickness and it’s a sickness unto death or despair,” he explains. “He tells that kid, ‘The problem is your despair’ but he’s really talking about himself. He can’t communicate with God. He’s trying various things like writing a journal, the rituals of the church, alcohol, prayer and then he picks up this nasty virus. Whether or not he’s actually an eco-warrior, I’m not sure. Maybe he’s just a diseased man who was looking for a cause.”

Of course, given the subject matters pointedness towards the deficiencies of the modern church system in their faith and response to current global issues. When asked whether or not he believes the church is missing something in today’s society, Schrader argues that this is absolutely the case.

“Of course, they are,” he asserts. “There’s a quote from John Lennon that says, ‘I don’t like God much once they get them under a roof.’ That’s the difference between spirituality and religion in the church. The moment you have a building and a membership and dues and uniforms and a hierarchy and organization, you [become] a kind of corporate structure. You have a budget. You have real estate and you have taxes. How do you combine the message of the gospel of Jesus with the obligations of running a corporation? That’s always been the difficulty. You have a big corporation. You have a sponsor, who is a polluter. Sometimes, you have to live in the real world. Geoffrey says ‘You don’t live real world. You’re a pastor of a church no one attends.’”

For full audio of our conversation with Paul Schrader, click here.

First Reformed was released in theatres on Friday, May 18th, 2018.

 

First Reformed: Is Church Relevant?

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“Will God forgive us?” — Toller (Ethan Hawke, First Reformed)

First Reformed tells the story of Toller (Ethan Hawke), a former military veteran and pastor of the First Reformed Church.  Preparing to celebrate their 250th anniversary, the church has become largely ceremonial, with most parishioners having moved over to the local megachurch, led by charismatic Pastor Jeffries (Cedric the Entertainer).  A former military veteran and father to a deceased child, Toller seeks desperately to ‘feel alive’ again in his ministry and finds himself called to the home of a suicidal parishioner for counselling.  When tragedy strikes, Toller finds himself torn between counseling the victim’s grieving widow (Amanda Seyfried) and his own creeping personal issues.

Written and directed by the legendary Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Afflicted), First Reformed reveals the hidden realities of church ministry, ugliness and all.  As Toller, Hawke offers a strong but subtle performance, portraying him as both warm and broken.  He is a man who is constantly ‘in the garden’ of suffering, emotionally and physically, clinging to a faith that seems irrelevant to the culture in which he lives.

However, in the death of his parishioner, he finds new life as he begins to question what it means to express his faith in the 21st Century.  By re-examining his passions and calling, Toller’s crisis of faith leads him into conflict with established religion, eventually putting him at odds with his friend, Pastor Jeffries.  Focused on massive budgets and state-of-the-art technology, Jeffries’ megachurch provides a fascinating contrast to Toller and First Reformed by showcasing the potential hypocrisy of the ‘ministry as big business’ mentality.  While Jeffries speaks of meeting with people of importance and spectacle, Toller demonstrates an increasingly deeper interest in justice issues such as the Underground Railroad and environmental conservation.  This juxtaposition of ideologies highlights the dangers of ‘cultural spirituality’ and begs the question of where the church’s responsibility lies today.  As the film goes on, Toller increasingly agonizes over important cultural issues, to the extent that he wonders if God will forgive us for our selfishness.

In light of this, First Reformed plays out as both call to the church and challenge to it as well.  Schrader’s script depicts the angst of one who clearly wishes the church will come alive by recognizing its potential role to affect change in our world.  As a result, First Reformed portrays the church as both hopeful and irrelevant by highlighting the lack of interest in social issues in favor of spiritual entertainment.  Broken by his personal history, Toller’s journey also reveals the impact that a person (or church) can have to affect change but also questions to what lengths they must go to do so.

For audio of our interview with writer/director Paul Schrader, listen below:

For audio of our interview with Cedric the Entertainer, listen below: