Year in ReView: Vanyaland’s favorite films of 2018

Best Cocktail

First Reformed

Paul Schrader may be single-handedly more prepared than any other director for the coming apocalypse, as his John the Baptist act has reached an artistic zenith in First Reformed, a thriller about an alcoholic priest (Ethan Hawke) suffering through crises both physical and metaphysical as his faith in humanity begins to dwindle. It’s, of course, an exquisite character piece for Hawke, who will rightfully win oodles of awards for his work here, and it’s Schrader’s first masterpiece since Mishima, though that may not be entirely his fault, given that it’s the most free of his recent films from outside interference. It was also the recipient of one of the most infamous marketing stunts ever to be attempted by A24, the film’s distributor, in which they asked viewers to prepare themselves the apocalyptic cocktail Hawke drinks in the film — one part bourbon, two parts Pepto Bismol — and film themselves drinking it. They’d win a sweater for their troubles. That combination, which aims to sooth the priest’s spiritual pain without upsetting his cancer-ridden stomach, does a better job describing the film’s tone and taste than I think anybody has given it credit for.