(Note: very light spoilers ahead)
The Academy Award-nominated film First Reformed was released two years ago, but its message is more relevant than ever.

It’s set in Modern-day Upstate New York and follows Reverend Toller, a pastor suffering from both physical and psychological problems, stemming from his disregard for his own well-being and deep guilt from his past. Toller is introspective and self-disciplined, but his growing alcoholism divests these traits. While he is the protagonist of the movie, it’s clear early on that his character is more symbolic than anything. His unraveling is intentionally juxtaposed against the Earth’s worsening climate. First Reformed is a thought-provoking film that examines who really is to blame for climate change, and who’s really affected by it. At the beginning of the film, the question “will God ever forgive us for what we’re doing to his creation?” is asked, and it drives the movie’s entire trajectory.

Rarely do I see a movie so in your face about its parallelism and messages that manages them with a considerable degree of subtly. The film does more than say “climate change bad,” it tells you why, and does so through the perspective of the last person you’d expect: a man of religion. For once, the discussion about climate change isn’t painted as a battle between religion and science, but rather a corporate interest issue, so both atheist and religious viewers alike can take an important message from this film without feeling alienated by the subject matter.

Although climate change is a growing issue that has practically engulfed political discourse in recent years, it’s no surprise that Hollywood has made very few films about it. It’s not a fun topic, and this isn’t a fun movie. But it’s a necessary one. This movie does an amazing job of emphasizing the urgency of the issue, while also forcing us to look within ourselves. We may not be the antagonists, but are we enabling them? The movie doesn’t explicitly answer that, we have to figure that out.

While I’m technically not allowed to encourage you to watch a rated R movie if you’re not 17, it’s important for people of all ages to gain new perspectives and knowledge about our society and the problems that afflict it. BBC, the primary news outlet in the UK, predicts that we have 16 months to make drastic changes before the effects of climate change become completely irreversible, which makes the need to watch movies like these more pressing. Sure, First Reformed alone won’t stop the crisis or have a sizable impact, but it does alter the discourse and spread awareness. A larger group has to recognize the gravity of climate change in order to combat it.