Rating: 
Summary: Powerful and Uplifting Performance
Review: Robert Duvall has always been one of my favorite actors, but most of the time he was on the side, not always the main star of the movie. And I always knew he would one day deliver a performance that would make Hollywood stand up and recongnize this man again (yes I know about Tender Mercices but that was a long time ago). And finally after nearly 15 years, Duvall's labor of love was released in 1997 and garnered critical praise everywhere. He nearly one another Academy Award for Best Actor but was beat out by Jack Nicholson. What is so good about "The Apostle" is that it displays the life of a Christian, yet it is realistic. It doesn't show this man as perfect who always does the right thing, it shows him as what he is, a human with faults. He has a "wandering eye" and is lead to drink after finding out his wife has left him. But what I really liked about this movie is that it goes on to show how the Apostle E.F. gets right with God and re-opens an old Church, before his sin comes back to haunt him in the final scene. Growing up in a Pentecostal/Holiness background this film may have had a greater effect on me than others, but I still feel that this is a great movie for people who love outstanding perfomances.
Rating: 
Summary: Fine Duvall performance, but I found it dull
Review: This was a movie I really expected to like-- and that I really wanted to like. I've always been a big fan of Duvall, and I had heard nothing but good about this film from critics-- including critics who I usually find myself in agreement with. And in truth, Duvall does give a stunning performance as a passionate, devout, committed, and yet very flawed and very human evangelical preacher. Nonetheless, I found myself quite bored with this movie. I just didn't find the character he portrays to be that *interesting*. Nor did I find the circumstances in which he found himself (i.e. the plot) to make for that exciting of a story. Maybe my expectations were just raised too high by all the praise of the film that I heard. Or maybe, if evangical Christianity were a personal issue in my life, I would have found this character study more engaging. But, sadly, the story really just didn't do anything for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Hollow detail!
Review: A very good character study.The reason I say only very good: The film indulged Duvall in long sermon like scenes but the sermons he gave were hollow. Having listened to a lot of evangelical and traditional preachers I have always been struck by the ability of a good preacher to make you think. They say something that you may not have considered before. They make you reflect. Looking at this film I could not see what attracted people to the apostle E.F. All he did was rant and rave without substance. Not so much a character study, more of a good impression. I mean if we are going to watch a long preaching scene it may as well have a thought provoking edge to it. Wouldn't the film be all the stronger for that? Robert Duvall had studied the mannerisms of evangelical ministers very well. You could appreciate the detail that he had picked up. But put some meat in the sandwhich if your going to serve up three or four sermons during a feature film! And I can't really believe that if his wife was living with another preacher then the Church would throw out Robert Duvall's character! Surely it would be his wife and the other preacher who would have to hit the road?
Rating:
Summary: "Get out of the way, Jupiter and Mars!"
Review: "The Apostle," starring Robert Duvall, Farrah Fawcett, Miranda Richardson, and John Beasley, is an outstanding film... beautifully written and acted, breathtaking in its simplicity and yet imbued with complex and deeply etched characters, a stunning and realistic portrayal of life inside a southern Pentecostal Christian community, and an eloquent chronicle of one man's search for redemption. The movie's premise is simple and effective. Euliss "Sonny" Dewey (played by Robert Duvall) is a Pentecostal preacher who has everything: a loving wife Jessie (Farrah Fawcett) and two adoring children; a doting mother (June Carter-Cash); and a thriving ministry. He is respected and loved by his church community. But Sonny is also a womanizer, and a man who suspects his wife being involved in an adulterous relationship of her own. Jessie is indeed having an affair with Horace, the youth minister in their church. When Sonny discovers the truth about his wife, his life unravels. He is ousted as pastor of his church. One day, Sonny momentarily loses control, and in a drunken rage, smashes Horace's skull with a baseball bat. Sonny flees from justice. Styling himself an itinerant preacher, he travels through rural southeastern Texas and into the bayou country of Louisiana. While he is traveling, he hears the voice of his conscience peck away at his vanity and worldly ways. The majority of this beautiful film takes place in a small town in Louisiana's bayou country. Sonny, now self-baptized as "The Apostle E.F.," sets about resurrecting a small Pentecostal church which had fallen into disuse after the retirement of its pastor. With an infectious smile, eternally effervescent personality, and obvious love for the Lord, the "Apostle E.F." soon sets this bayou community on its ear. The Apostle, however, is constantly aware of his past, as his conscience reminds him of the enormity of his crime. How he deals with the issue of balancing God's love with God's justice is perhaps the central theme of this marvelous film. It took Robert Duvall fourteen years to see this project through to fruition, and his commitment shows throughout the film. His performance as "The Apostle E.F." has tremendous depth and credibility. In this veteran actor's hands, the character of Sonny Dewey illuminates the screen. Other performances of note are those of John Beasley as the compassionate yet strong-willed Reverend Blackwell; and in an excellent cameo appearance, June Carter-Cash as Sonny's mother. Only the performance of Farrah Fawcett seems to suffer in this film. Her portrayal of Jessie Dewey seemed to lack power; the character she played seemed too unemotional and detached in every scene in which she appeared. "The Apostle" is a well crafted film which explores many issues confronting humanity: good versus evil; justice versus mercy; and virtue versus vice. This movie provides sensitive answers to pressing questions, and does so without ever becoming moralistic or "preachy." With a top-shelf screenplay and first-rate performances by an excellent cast, The Apostle is wonderful entertainment, as well as a movie with an important message.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth seeing more than once.
Review: I rented this movie primarily because I like Duvall's movies, but this one was a total disappointment. It's not at all what you would think it would be from the title or the description on the box. I admit I was kinda hoping it would be more like Duvall's 1983 film "Tender Mercies" (a movie I love), but it definitely wasn't.
Rating:
Summary: Put God first, not your own desires.
Review: I enjoyed this movie as it shows what can happen when a man of God goes his own rebellious way. When we as believers in Christ (those who accept Jesus as Saviour) make our own decisions without God, we will eventually fail in the end. We become carnal (of the flesh). But, when we return to God, we will conquer over the world, and be brought back to the throne of God (become spiritual). It is better to be of the Spirit (God's Spirit) than of the flesh (our own wants and desires). God's Grace is there for all to be saved and redeemed in Jesus Christ, no matter what we have done or will do. Once we receive Christ as our personal Saviour, we are saved and have the free gift of eternal life from God Himself. If we sin (or rebel) against God, we just have to confess that sin to God and repent (turn away from sin) and go back to God. We have a hope in Jesus Christ, God's Son.
Rating:
Summary: Duvall the great artist
Review: While The Apostle certainly doesn't give a true picture of today's Christianity, it is perhaps an accurate portrayal of a Pentecostal preacher. The story line is great and has all the aspects of human emotion. A preacher (Robert Duvall) finds out that his wife (Farrah Fawcett) betrays him and when he snaps, in the heat of the moment, he kills her lover. A sad mistake, and as the preacher tries to figure out what to do next, he leaves town and hides out in a sleepy Louisiana village. There he starts a new church and as a man of God he goes through the struggle of being on the run from the law. Needless to say that it's an excellent performance by Robert Duvall. This movie is even more remarkable as Duvall wrote the script, he himself got the financing together, and he is also the director of this movie. The Apostle is a testimony of Duvall the great artist. Some of the characters are played by non-actors, but these folks do an excellent job, and it gives the movie an additional sense of authenticity. The soundtrack is also a great compilation of gospel music that is very fit for this motion picture.
Rating:
Summary: The best portrayal of a Christian preacher
Review: Robert Duvall is simply an incredible actor and director. This film is absolutely the best depiction of a Christian person. Not saying that some of the things the character did were to be emulated. But Duvall saw that a Christian is a real person that has to confront all the issues and baggage that anyone else does. He was able to master that perfectly in the southern Pentecostal preacher. I figured when even Billy Graham said he had seen this one twice-- that was a good enough recommendation for me! Here in Portland, I saw The Apostle at one of the "arts" theaters. You have to understand that Portland is "not" your typical bastion of conservatism or a Bible Belt area by any means. The audience was totally captivated. The final scenes as Duvall is led away found the entire theater absolutely silent. He could have appeared right there and prayed with all of us to become followers of Christ. In the Apostle we see a picture of a real person, living a real (though somewhat troubled) life that exhibits a totally believable example of what it must be like to follow Jesus. This is a classic.
Rating:
Summary: Great for discussion groups
Review: I'd just like to add to the other reviewers, that this is a great video for group viewing and discussion in a church or non-church setting. Some of the content makes it inappropriate for younger children. What do we think about Sonny? Is he a man of God or a slick hustler? Duvall is terrific! Do yourself a favor and seek out this video and give it close attention.
Rating:
Summary: The naturalness of jumping up and down in church
Review: "The Apostle" captures the body language of Pentecostal Christians--portraying, for example, the naturalness of jumping up and down in church. Respect for Pentecostal faith is the movie's frame around the story of Sonny, a preacher on the lam. Sonny discovers that his wife (played with shadowy understatement by Farrah Fawcett) and the youth minister are having an affair, so Sonny swings a bat at the man's head, which is imprudent enough but characteristic of Sonny's temperament--And it sends him into hiding along the bayous of rural Louisiana. There Sonny transforms himself into the Apostle E.F. and founds a church, while waiting for the law to catch up with him. The movie is a character study, rather than a narrative or a documentary, and it succeeds by generating sympathy for the Apostle E.F., who is a leader and a felon and an inhabitant of a charismatic world that's closer at hand than we think.
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