Ethan Hawke ► reececrothers.com

**Paul Schrade**r in press photo for “**First Reformed.**“

On this week’s episode of The Filmography podcast, Bjorn and I take a deep dive into Paul Schrader’s 21’s picture, “First Reformed,” for which he received his first Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay.

Listen to The Filmography on Spotify (link above), Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.

**Ethan Hawke** as Reverend Toller in my favourite still from “**First Reformed.**” Just look at that pink and purple sky! Like something out of an impressionist painting.

**Paul** **Schrader** in a press photo for “**First** **Reformed**.”

With “First Reformed,” Paul Schrader’s wilderness years are finally over. It seems “Dog Eat Dog” did what it was supposed to do, blasted away all the cobwebs, cleansed the palate (especially of “The Canyons”), done away with all of the experimentations of genre and style, and returned Schrader to his transcendental roots, exploring the influence of austere filmmakers like Ozu, Bresson, and Dreyer, on whom Schrader wrote the book that launched his career as a film critic even before he became a celebrated screenwriter and director.

**Paul Schrader’s** classic text on the style of **Ozu**, **Bresson**, and **Dreyer**.

From the moment we see Ethan Hawke alone in a room, sitting at a table, writing in a journal, we know immediately that this is not just a Paul Schrader picture, but one of his “man in a room” stories, a cycle which began with “Taxi Driver,” and includes “American Gigolo” (no journal writing), “Light Sleeper,” “The Walker” (no journal), “First Reformed,” and following that, “The Card Counter,” and “Master Gardner.”

These films are linked with common themes of isolation and self-destructive violence.

Out of bullets, De **Niro’s** finger becomes a weapon.

Willem Dafoe goes kamikaze in “**Light** **Sleeper**,” and survives.

Ethan Hawke works out his Jesus complex in “**First** **Reformed**.”

“First Reformed” recalls “Taxi Driver” in many other ways, too. Some similarities are superficial, referencing specific shots, such as the Pepto Bismol in the whiskey glass in “First Reformed,” and the Alka Seltzer in water in “Taxi Driver.”

Breakfast of champions in “First Reformed.”

**Martin** **Scorsese’s** out-of-the-box **Alka** **Seltzer** ad from “**Taxi** **Driver**.”

Some references are more profound, such as the protagonists of both films attempting to save themselves by saving a young woman. In the case of “Taxi Driver,” that woman was initially a romantic interest, as played by Cybil Sheppard, before morphing into an actual rescue attempt, with the character played by Jodie Foster.

**Cybil** **Sheppard** as Betsy, a campaign worker De **Niro’s** **Travis** **Bickle** fixates on.

**Jodie** **Foster** as Iris, an adolescent sex worker that Travis attempts to rescue.

In “First Reformed,” both parts manifest in one character. Played by Amanda Seyfried, Mary is one of Reverend Tiller’s parishioners, a pregnant widow to whom he feels an immense sense of responsibility, since he blames himself for her husband’s suicide.

**Amanda** **Seyfried** as Mary in “**First** **Reformed**.”

Unlike Travis’ relationships with Betsy or Iris, Rev. Tiller’s feelings for Mary are reciprocated, fuelled by a shared sense of grief and trauma. It is Schrader’s most tender romance to date, culminating in a hyper-stylized “magical mystery tour” sequence (as Bjorn calls it) that would have eyes rolling in the hands of most other directors, but coming from such an unsentimental filmmaker as Schrader, is actually quite moving.

**Amanda** **Seyfried** in a still from “**First** **Reformed**.”

The “magical mystery tour” sequence in “**First** **Reformed**.”

Three men in a room (though two are pictured outside here!): **Ethan** **Hawke**, **Oscar** **Isaac**, and **Joel** **Edgerton**.

With the success and acclaim of “First Reformed” Schrader must have realized he had finally hit upon the winning formula. His next two pictures, “The Card Counter,” and “Master Gardner,” would complete an unofficial “man in the room” trilogy.

Though “Light Sleeper” remains my favourite Schrader Picture, “First Reformed” may very well be his best. For the full breakdown on why, you’ll have to listen to the podcast!

Watch the trailer for “First Reformed” here:

“First Reformed” trailer on YouTube.

Listen to Schrader’s audio commentary for “First Reformed” here:

Audio commentary by Paul Schrader for “First Reformed” on YouTube.

Watch the “magical mystery tour” sequence from “First Reformed” here:

Ethan Hawke takes Amanda Seyfried on a “magical mystery tour” in “First Reformed.”

“**First** **Reformed**” double exposure image from Mubi.com

Read Mubi’s article “Everybody Sacrifices” here:

https://mubi.com/en/notebook/posts/everybody-sacrifices-paul-schrader-discusses-first-reformed

Read the NY Times review, “First Reformed Is An Epiphany…” here:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/17/movies/first-reformed-review-paul-schrader-ethan-hawke.html

Listen to the Variety podcast, “Paul Schrader reflects on the long journey of ‘First Reformed'” here:

https://variety.com/2019/film/podcasts/playback-podcast-paul-schrader-first-reformed-1203136319

Watch Alex Ross Perry’s portrait of Paul Schrader, “Man In A Room,” on the Criterion Channel here:

https://www.criterionchannel.com/meet-the-filmmakers-paul-schrader

Read the Interview Magazine article “Paul Schrader tells Nicolas Cage why ‘First Reformed’ is his masterpiece” here:

https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/paul-schrader-nicolas-cage-april-issue-2018-interview

“‘Dying of the Light,’ a film I wrote and directed, was taken away from me after the submission of the Director’s Cut (June 2014). Grindstone Pictures and the producers wanted a generic Nic Cage video-on-demand film, while my editorial instincts were pointing toward something more interesting. Grindstone recut, scored, and mixed the film without my input. Subsequently, actors Nicholas Cage and Anton Yelchin, executive producer Nic Refn and I distanced ourselves from the film… I remain hopeful that someday I will be allowed to finish the film.” –Paul Schrader

**Paul** **Schrader** with his “**Dying** of **The** **Light**” stars **Anton** **Yelchin** and **Nicolas** **Cage**.

In this week’s episode of The Filmography podcast, Bjorn and I are joined by very special returning guest (and noted Cage-o-holic) Mark Hanson for a discussion of Paul Schrader’s 2014 CIA spy thriller, “Dying of the Light,” the first of two back-to-back Schrader / Nic Cage collaborations, as well as Schrader’s own psychedelic bootleg cut of the film, “Dark.”

**Nic** **Cage** stars as Evan Lake, a CIA operative whose quest for revenge is hampered by the ravages of dementia.

Although the film was taken away from Schrader in post-production (echoes of his experience with “Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist“), re-cut, and poorly marketed as just another anonymous Nicolas Cage Direct-To-Video (DTV) actioner, Schrader at least attempted to do something new with the spy genre, as evidenced by “Dark,” which takes a radical Tony Scott / “Man on Fire” approach to the material, re-framing shots as extreme-close-ups, with music video-style quick cutting, and featuring extended psychedelic sequences, as seen in the image below:

**Nic** **Cage** tripping out on dementia.

While it drove Bjorn nuts, the bootleg “Dark” cut suggests a much more expressionistic take on the story, aiming to put you in Cage’s POV, heightening the sensation of his deteriorating state of mind. In both cuts, the dementia angle is an interesting complication to what is otherwise a fairly straight-forward revenge thriller.

**Cage** losing his composure while delivering his big speech at CIA headquarters.

When the film was taken away from Schrader, he and his stars, Nic Cage and Anton Yelchin, and executive producer Nicolas Winding Refn (who was originally slated to direct before he signed on to “Drive” instead, with Harrison Ford and Channing Tatum cast in the Cage and Yelchin roles, respectively) were photographed wearing their NDA agreements on their t-shirts as a silent protest.

The cast and filmmakers of “**Dying of the Light**” in their protest apparel.

“Because we were threatened with lawsuits if we spoke ill of the Grindstone version, our protests took the form of wearing T-shirts bearing the “non-disparagement” clause that prohibited public statements. For now, that’s the only photo I’ll include on this web page.” –Paul Schrader

The released cut of “Dying of the Light” is nowhere near as bad as one might expect from a picture that has been taken away from its writer/director and re-cut by its meddling producers, but it’s disappointing to see another Schrader picture barely get released.

Cage and a very large (but cozy-looking) hat in “**Dying of the Light**.”

“I made Dog Eat Dog to redeem myself from the humiliation of Dying of the Light, which was taken away from me. Nic and I disowned it, I subsequently did my own edit, put it on torrent, but it was a career killer.” –Paul Schrader

Cage with less than all of his ear in “**Dying of the Light.**“

It turned out not to be a career-killer, neither for Cage, who is currently having a resurgence after his stellar turn in this years’ Oz (son of Anthony) Perkins‘ directed serial-killer thriller “Longlegs,” nor for Schrader, who would re-team with Cage on the above-mentioned “Dog Eat Dog” before his own resurgence with, arguably, his finest picture yet, 2017’s “First Reformed.”

A barely recognizable **Nic** **Cage** in Oz **Perkins**‘ “**Longlegs**.”

**Ethan Hawke** in **Schrader’s** comeback picture, “**First** **Reformed**.”

Deserving special mention here is the supporting performance by Anton Yelchin, who brings a deep level of compassion and decency to his role as Cage’s young espionage protegé.

**Cage** and **Yelchin** as mentor and protégé.

Yelchin was an extremely likeable actor who made all of his characters highly relatable with an abundance of natural charm and thoughtfulness, who was tragically killed in a freak accident much too young. I would have liked to have seen many more films from him, having watched him mature into a very fine actor in the years since his auspicious debut as a child actor in the under-appreciated 2001 Stephen King adaptation “Hearts in Atlantis,” starring Anthony Hopkins, and directed by Scott Hicks.

**Yelchin** as a boy in the 2001 **Anthony** **Hopkins** picture “**Hearts** **in Atlantis**.”

“Dark” is an interesting cinema artifact in that it hints at the film Schrader might have made had he been allowed to finish his cut of “Dying of the Light.” However, it’s too rough around the edges (made from DVD rough cuts of Schrader’s unfinished workprint) to really satisfy as a picture on its own terms.

What we are ultimately left with in “Dying of the Light” is a movie that is neither the total disaster Schrader seems to think it is, nor one that transcends the DTV action-thriller limitations of the genre that Cage has all-too-often dipped his toes in (with a back catalogue of mediocre and disposable pictures to his credit with interchangeable titles like “Stolen,” “Kill Chain,” “Vengeance,” “Primal,” “Rage,” “Seeking Justice,” etc., etc, etc).

Three forgettable **Nicolas** **Cage** DTV action thrillers.

Three more forgettable **Nicolas** **Cage** DTV action thrillers.

Knowing that both Cage and Schrader would independently go onto make much better pictures in the years following this one takes a little of the bad taste out of your mouth, though their next film together, “Dog Eat Dog,” isn’t quite the redeeming palate-cleanser that Schrader suggests. Of course, for more on that, you’ll have to tune into next week’s episode! Until then, thanks for listening!

Listen to the podcast here:

Listen to the latest episode of The Filmography on Spotify (with the above link), Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes released every Friday.

Read IndieWire’s article on “Dark,” Paul Schrader’s recut of “Dying of the Light” here:

https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/paul-schrader-dying-of-the-light-nicolas-cage-dark-new-cut-1201905124