The Apostle

Rating:
Summary: ...i'm so inspired, I wanna reach a little higher...
Review: ...man, I can't say enough good things about this movie. Recently, I was encouraging someone to see it, and then I thought that I'd see it again myself. I think I loved it more than when I saw it the first time (if that's even possible). This is obviously Robert Duvall's "baby", as he poured so much of his time, money and energy into this compelling film. His acting is so superb, I'm inclined to wonder if he's ever been a pentecostal preacher at any point in his life. Seriously, though, the film takes a close look at the life of Sonny (a.k.a. the Apostle "EF") and all the issues he's faced with as a man of God. Indeed, he is a man of God, filled with unimagineable passion and zeal for God...but his life is troubled with his own fleshly weaknesses, and those of his wife, as well...
Even in spite of all he deals with, all the dilemmas he must face, and all the places he must run to hide from the inevitable, what most impresses me about this movie is this man's honesty with God. He would yell at God, question God, but never did he hold back with God, and I think this is how he learned to develop the deep intimacy he shared with God...it was this intimacy that shaped his life, his love and passion...
This is an excellent movie YOU MUST SEE...finally a Christian man is represented as a REAL person...not corny, not wimpy, but real, with real issues and real emotions, but living in relationship with a very REAL God that he turns to time and time again...
This movie is not "religious" in the way you may be inclined to think, so don't shrink away from it if you don't consider yourself a "religious" person...enjoy the unfolding of his tale and the peeling away of his layers...I am amazed at the influence this man had in the lives of nearly everyone he met...however brief the encounter, he had real impact --- very impressive stuff. The movie is not so much about religion per se, as it is about people and the unexpected turns our lives take.

Rating:
Summary: Intelligent, beautiful, a tad too long
Review: Robert Duvall spent years trying to get "The Apostle" made. Finally, he struck a deal after agreeing to put up a fairly large percentage of the budget himself. I hope he got his money back. By current standards, it was not expensive to make.

I do not know what drove Duvall to get "The Apostle," which he also wrote, onto the screen. Whatever his reasons, I am glad he persisted.

It does make sense that it was hard to finance. Morality tales have not been in vogue for a couple of decades. Tragedies have never been popular. By tragedy, I am referring to the classical definition, which, in simple terms, is a story about a powerful person who is undone by one fatal flaw. "The Apostle" fits this criteria.

Perhaps the primary reason for its mediocre commercial success is that its main character is an evangelical Southern preacher. That such a person could be an intelligent being, who fully and honestly believes that its his calling to bring people to salvation, is beyond the experience of the vast majority of Americans.

Yet the protagonist - Apostle E. F. - could be anyone who truly wants to be a good person, but is undone by a bad habit or obsession they cannot overcome. His being an evangelical preacher seems to me to be an obviously good choice to build the story around. In the process, it is an eye opener for people who categorize all singing, shouting, charismatic religious leaders as raving maniacs.

Duvall hit the jackpot with his very first film. He played Bo Ridley in "To Kill a Mockingbird." Since then, he has had many choice roles, including "The Godfather Trilogy" and the TV miniseries, "Lonesome Dove." In "The Apostle," as E. F., he pulls out all the stops and gives perhaps his finest performance.

Even though Billy Bob Thornton has but two scenes, his performance is first rate. He is such a fine actor that one hardly recognizes him as the same man who starred in "Sling Blade." If any of you receive the cable channel BBC America, do not miss him in the British miniseries "Edge of Darkness."

Farrah Fawcett, as E.F.'s wife, is given a rare opportunity to act. I've never understood why her talents have been largely wasted for years.

June Carter Cash, wife of Johnny, portrays E.F.'s mother. To watch her, you'd think she'd been making movies for years.

This is the seventh movie filmed around Lafayette, Louisiana. One of the most beautiful areas in The South, it is particularly well utilized here.

The film's main failure is that it runs about twenty minutes too long. Actors who turn directors often make this mistake. Mel Gibson did it in "Braveheart," while Kevin Costner has done it in all his movies. There are exceptions, of course, such as Clint Eastwood and Jodie Foster.

I think the excessive length problem occurs less from ego problems than from the fact that actors have different training than directors do. Just as the greatest actors can tell us more with their body language than with their dialog, so can the greatest directors make each scene propel the plot along.

This is the kind of film I hesitate to write a plot synopsis for. It could spoils things for the viewer. I can tell you that the story is mesmerizing and particularly believable.

Rating:
Summary: Holy Role
Review: The Apostle E.F. can open a temple to God easier then most. He can speak for the Lord and attract much needed attention, filling the seats. He can move the congregation to tears and has several conversions at his hands. In fact, his use of "Holy Ghost Power" makes him one of the best preachers on the planet.

The Apostle E.F. can also find too much solace in a flask of whiskey. He can seek shelter in several women's beds. He has lost the love of his wife and many in his congregation. And, he's on the lam for murder.

Robert Duvall is phenomenal as the evangelist on the run. And his direction of his own story is to be admired. Most films with a religious leader in trouble work hard to blame the religion for the shortcoming or they focus on hypocrisy. This film does not take the easy way out as E.F. strives to keep his human life separated from his spiritual life. Casting mostly non-actors and unknowns results in a more believable 'church' life. A post SLING BLADE performance by Billy Bob Thornton provides the film with one of the biggest surprises.

This film does have its drawbacks, as the pacing is not always so forgiving and sometimes plot points are unfocused. For example, an anxious youth overhears E.F. admit to a crime. Then we see his estranged wife finding out where E.F. is hiding. Quickly, police arrive to take E.F. away. Who contacted them? It turns out to be the wife. Then what were we to learn from the youth overhearing the confession?

The DVD helps to solidify what a personal film this was for Duvall who admits in the running commentary and in the documentary that this was almost 15 years in the making. It has a standard audio/video transfer, but this film would never challenge your subwoofer anyway.

Rating:
Summary: Review
Review: Wonderful. You can watch with your family and not be embarrassed.
Very realistic and does not make Christians look bad, evil or just plain dumb. Favorite line: (The black lady with twin boys is hurrying out front to catch the church bus.) "We going to praise the Lord now I don't wanna hafta woop ya."

Rating:
Summary: An Strong Drama on the believe of God.
Review: A Texas Pentecostal Preacher named Sonny Dewey (Robert Duvall in a Oscar Nominated Role) catches his wife (Farrah Fawcett) in bed with a local youth director, which he nearly kills him with a Baseball Bat. Now he`s running from the law, moving to Louisiana to Start all over again by Opening a Negiected Country Chapel and gathers a new flock.

This film is about Redemption and the Flawed, flamboyant servant of God is full of Emotional and Regilious Truth. Written and Directed by Oscar-Winner:Robert Duvall has made a Strong Believable film. Strong Supporting cast including:Miranda Richardson, Todd Allen, John Beaskey, Oscar-Winner:Billy Bob Thornton & June Carter Cash. An unforgettable film. Grade:A.

Rating:
Summary: Breaks stereotypes and rings with authenticity!
Review: Until now, my view of Pentecostal churches in the South has been rooted in films such as Elmer Gantry and newsreels of right-to-lifers demonstrating outside of abortion clinics. Southern preachers are always depicted as charlatans and narrow-minded bigots with an intelligence level way below that of human beings. This film breaks that pattern and explodes all those assumptions with startling authenticity. Robert Duval, in a truly magnificent performance, plays one of those preachers. Jesus and the Church are part of his life and, in the first scene, he stops his car at an highway accident and gives comfort to a seriously injured young man. Later, he and his mother sing hymns in the car and there is a loving domestic scene with his wife, played by Farrah Fawcett, and his two children. His marriage, however, is on the rocks, and he commits a passionate act of violence. Now he has to run.

He runs then, and, when he gets into a slight accident and his car gets sunk in the river, he emerges with nothing but a small briefcase and the clothes on his back. All this time he is praying to Jesus and the praying is real. I could, myself, sense the man's torment and his struggles with himself. He meets an old crippled black man fishing in a river who gives him food and shelter and eventually he finds out that there is a small town in Louisiana in need of a preacher. He travels to the town and hooks up with an elderly black preacher to build a church. And build a church he does. He takes low paying jobs selling ice cream, working at a diner as a short order cook, working in a gas station to raise money. There is an old church building to rebuild and people in the town help paint and make repairs, and he goes on the local radio station and recruits rarishioners. Lately I read a long article about Pentecostal churches and how they are truly integrated in ways that churches in the South have not seen before. This is clearly demonstrated in the movie and the congregants who are not professional actors give a meaningful and honest picture of the way it really is.

I understand now how much meaning the church has in these people's lives. It gives them hope and joy and a way to dance and sing and come together. Going to church is like going to a big party where a catharsis of emotion uplifts the spirit and refreshes the soul. When a town racist and bully comes to destroy the church with a bulldozer, in a complex scene in which good and evil are pitted against each other, good eventually wins out and the bully converts. Robert Duval sees himself as a sinner who can therefore help others because he understands the nature of sin. His mother is dying and he cannot go home. He still thinks of his wife and his children. But he tries to court Miranda Richardson, a member of the congregation, who is separated from her husband. Their awkward first date and groping kisses further humanize him.

This an exceptional drama, authentic and original. Make it a point to see The Apostle. It is more than a good story with outstanding acting. It expands understanding and appreciation for a way of life that even a jaded New Yorker like myself can understand. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: compelling
Review: In a film that took 13 years and $5 million of his own money, Robert Duvall tells the story of The Reverend Eulis "Sonny" Dewey, a charismatic Pentacostal preacher. As the film opens, Sonny is being brought (dragged?) to church by a black woman, perhaps a nanny. In this ramshackle building, amongst the predominantly black parishioners, Sonny hears the fire and brimstone sermons and is himself moved to take up preaching. His present life finds him the head of his own church in East Texas; driving a luxury car with "Sonny" plates; living in a big house; married to a pretty blonde wife (Farrah Fawcett); with two lovely blonde children (his "beauties"); a powerful man with a big ego. But there's a worm in the apple and when the Lord wakes him in a motel one night and tells him to check his bed at home, Sonny discovers that his wife has taken up with the church's youth minister.

It is clear that the marriage has been troubled before, not least of all because Sonny is on the road so much and has a "wandering eye", but now his wife tells him she wants out. She even refuses to pray with him. Then, adding insult to injury, he finds that she has taken the church from him too. Sonny takes to arguing with the Lord, wondering what he's supposed to do with himself now, waiting for a sign. But with no guidance forthcoming, Sonny, at loose ends and drinking too much, shows up at a little league game to see his children and the youth minister unwisely confronts him. In an explosion of temper, but one that's been simmering, Sonny lays him out with a baseball bat.

Taking it on the lam, Sonny discards all vestiges of his former life. An old black man lets Sonny stay with him for a few days and tells him about a minister he knows down in Louisianna, C. Charles Blackwell. Sonny, after much soul searching and further discussions with the Lord, rebaptizes himself as "The Apostle E. F." and heads to Bayou Boutte to meet Brother Blackwell

There Sonny takes on several menial jobs and cultivates a friendship with the appropriately distrustful Blackwell, who has been forced by ill health to abandon his church. Sonny, his charisma intact and now possessed by a fierce desire to found a new church, wins Blackwell's trust (or at least a bemused acquiesence), gains his first disciple in a young mechanic he works with; gets time on a local radio station to speak the Word, and restores Blackwell's old church. From humble beginnings--the first service is attended by only a handful of people--Sonny begins to build a congregation and a relationship with the surrounding community. One of the locals, played by Billy Bob Thornton, takes exception to the idea of blacks and whites worshipping together, but Sonny first beats him and then confounds him with love ("So spake the Son of God, and Satan stood A while as mute, confounded what to say." --John Milton).

Finally, Sonny tells Blackwell who he really is and why he's there. He knows that the law must soon close in on him, but until they do he just wants to devote himself to the church. The story builds--at a stately pace, it's true--to an extended final scene in which Sonny conducts his last service with the police waiting to arrest him, having perhaps been betrayed by the mechanic.

This is a surprising movie in many ways, but chiefly for the generosity of Duvall's vision. Producer, writer, director, star, he obviously has something to say here and the one message that comes through most clearly is the power of faith in the lives of Sonny and his flock. One of the most unusual things about the portrayal of Sonny is that there is never a single moment in the movie where it seems like he is playing a role. Think what you will of his surpassing ego and the undeniable control he seeks to exert on people; he is nonetheless a man who truly believes in what he's saying and feels a genuine calling to serve the Lord and his fellow man. The humility with which he recognizes his own sinfulness and asks God's guidance, the willingness with which he embraces poverty, the eagerness with which he seeks hard work in order to fund the church, the love with which he approaches everyone, all mark him as a good and decent man, despite his obvious sins and character flaws.

You may disapprove of Sonny's more extreme character traits and impulsive actions (though the Old Testament-style punishment he metes out seems fair where adultery is concerned) and may find his religion unusual, but he's a truly compelling figure. All credit is due to Duvall who has crafted one of the most well-rounded and even-handed portraits of a man of faith in any picture that I can recall. His time and money were well spent.

GRADE : A

Rating:
Summary: Struggle between flesh and spirit
Review: This is absolutely one of my favorite movies due to the fact that you can clearly see the struggle of mankind -- the struggle between flesh and spirit.

The main character, played by Robert Duvall, is a man that loves God with all his heart, wants to be used of God and minister to people yet hasn't won the battle that rages in him and that is the battle for control of his life -- spirit vs. flesh.

What I liked was that even though he made mistakes, even though he made wrong decisions, God forgave him and mightily used him to further the Kingdom of God. You could see how God can take a situation that seems hopeless and turn it around to be mightily used by Him to turn the eyes of all to the only One who matters -- God Himself!!

This is one to watch again and again to remind yourself that we are human and do make mistakes, but that there is always forgiveness for a repentant heart and a time to move on in the things of God. Despite mistakes, God can always use a repentant, yielded-to-God heart --- and you will clearly see that in this movie!

Rating:
Summary: Great perfomance. Plot?
Review: Beware of Pentecostals. I'm not sure that I have ever seen one in real life, but if they turn out to be anything like Robert Duvall's character Sonny in "The Apostle," then I'd turn around and run faster than if it were a Southern Baptist. Duvall's performance as on over-the-top Texas preacher and self-baptised apostle of God is fantastic; the best scenes of the film are those in which he is given (or gives himself, I suppose) free reign to go Hallelujah-crazy, Thank You Jesus. However, taking out those great parts, there's not all that much left to the film to really make it all that good.

When I think of Texas, I think of three things: President Bush, Lyle Lovett, and crazy preachers. This film's got two of the three, which ain't bad. (No, Lyle doesn't show up; he provides the exit music). Duvall runs a decent-sized parish but is driven out but some parishoners due to his questionable moral actions (his "wandering eye"). You think "Too bad for Sonny," then, Woops! ....

From there, it's your classic redemption story. Sonny wants to be saved, and he succeeds. It's a riveting character study, although it's neither illuminating nor unpredictable. The supporting cast is a trifle curious, as the noteworthy performers (Farrah Fawcett, Miranda Richardson, and the auspisiously endearing Billy Bob Thornton) are all given lackluster roles. It's the unknowns who are the ones with performances worthy of sharing the stage with Duvall, specifically Walt Goggins as the Iscariot-esque Sam, and John Beasley as the former preacher of Sonny's new ministry.

Maybe it's an unfair overstatement to say that the plot is useless, but I'm not so sure that Duvall wouldn't have been better off just filming himself preaching than trying to build a story around it. Or, better yet, perhaps he should hit the road on the tent revival circuit, Thank You Robert!

Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest American films
Review: It took 15 years for Robert Duvall to bring The Apostle to the screen. He wrote, starred in, cast, executive produced, and directed the picture, and after years of fruitless fund-raising, paid for it. It is clear, from his dedication and from the director's commentary on the DVD, that for Duvall, this is THE movie--his legacy. Anyone familiar with Duvall's prodigious talent will have high expectations, and they will be more than fulfilled. The Apostle is a tour de force, one of the finest American films of the century. Duvall's performance as Pentecostal preacher "Sonny" Dewey is unforced and subtle (unjustly denied Best Actor at the Oscars). He refuses to condescend or stereotype. Most of the extras were cast from the southern churches he studied; the result is an honesty and energy almost unheard of in portrayals of religion in film. The Apostle is witness to the benefits of having one person at the helm--Duvall refuses to rush the pace, refuses to cut scenes purely for brevity's sake. The film is slow, deliberate, and powerful, a triumph for one of America's great living actors.