Interview (Written): Paul Schrader

A Q&A with the writer-director of the movie First Reformed.

With a list of movie credits that include The Yakuza, Taxi Driver, American Gigolo, Raging Bull, The Mosquito Coast, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Affliction, Paul Schrader is one of the giants of contemporary screenwriting. His latest is a remarkable film: First Reformed which is Schrader’s finest directing effort (he also wrote the script).

In this Film Inquiry interview, Schrader goes into depth about First Reformed.

How long does it take you do create a writing project from ideation to completion of the script?

Paul Schrader: I’ve been working on a new idea for about a year and a half. I didn’t know what it was until about two months ago [laughs]. It took me about two months to outline it, and now I just started writing, and it’ll take me another two months to write it. But you just bang around for the longest time.

You’re looking for a — particularly now, after First Reformed, I didn’t want to do just something. I mean, because I like this film a lot, I don’t know if it’s going to be my last film, but if it is, it’s a good last film. And that makes you start thinking about, you know, “What should you do after this that is worthy of this one?” And so it’s taken me quite a while, but I finally have come unto something.

Wow, that’s fantastic. So, if you had to sum up First Reformed‘s message, or messages, in a few sentences, what would you say?

Paul Schrader: Well, a work of art is inherently a mystery. It’s a mystery to the person who created it and it should be to person who views it. But you can’t sum it up, because if you could sum it up, it wouldn’t be very good. So, I wouldn’t know how to sum it up. It’s like saying — okay. What happens at the end of this film, First Reformed?

They embrace and they kiss.

Paul Schrader: Is he alive or is he dead?

Well, we don’t know.

Paul Schrader: And I don’t know. I don’t know. I mean, I put enough evidence in there for both. Maybe this is a miraculous appearance. Maybe this an ecstatic vision at the moment of death, you know? Who knows? But so, if you build in mysteries, it’s very hard to sum it up [laughs].

Here is a scene from the movie First Reformed:

For the rest of the Film Inquiry interview with Paul Schrader, go here.

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