Apostle

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Apostle

Editorial Review

Written, directed, and personally financed by Robert Duvall, The Apostle was the culmination of a 14-year effort on the part of its creator, who also stars as the dynamic, God-fearing Texas preacher Euliss "Sonny" Dewey. Vibrantly authentic with its use of real gospel preachers and extras carefully selected from parishes of the deep South, the film treats its complicated characters with the kind of compassion and moral complexity mainstream Hollywood wouldn't dare muster. This is especially true in the case of Sonny, who responds to his wife's infidelity with a crime of passion that sends him on a new and uncharted quest for redemption. Under the assumed identity of "The Apostle E.F.," he settles in a tiny Louisiana town to revive an old church, where he undergoes a transformation of spirit and purpose that enlivens his community. But will the law catch up to him? Does he deserve to be punished? Fueled by Duvall's powerhouse performance, The Apostle refuses to praise or condemn its fascinating central character, leaving the proper degree of forgiveness up to the viewer. Further graced with superb performances by Farrah Fawcett, Miranda Richardson, and Billy Bob Thornton, the film is clearly Duvall's labor of love. The Collector's Edition DVD features a full-length commentary by Duvall and The Journey of the Apostle, a documentary featurette about the making of the film. --Jeff Shannon

Features:

• Closed-captioned
• Color
• NTSC

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
• Redemption without repentance? For Apostle E.F., the answer is found here.
  It's an amazing movie, one that Robert Duvall acknowledges as a career peak in the accompanying documentary. It's amazing on so many levels that when the long road to financing the film is revealed (Duvall made it on his own dime), you want to look toward Hollywood and ask "What were you THINKING?" He reveals that his award for "Tender Mercies" made him think that a window of opportunity might open. However, "The Apostle" was to remain in Duvall's "theater of the mind" for a few years longer.
  The... more info
• strange wondering
  This portrayal of a pentecostal preacher is the most realistic I've seen; others have capsuled it, so I won't here. Duvall plays Sonny (the preacher) with such humanness that you can't walk away loving or hating him - or if you can, it'll be both. I could never tell if Sonny was a genuinely God-touched person, or a gifted man making a place for himself in the world through preaching. No single incident in the story played it one way or another. He unquestionably had a gift in bringing people together,... more info
• Interesting but NOT great
  It really is too bad that it took so long for Robert Duvall to make this movie as I thought he was a too old for his part. At the beginning, I honestly thought those were his GRANDCHILDREN and June Carter Cash was his wife. (Alot of Southern men call their wives "Momma": annoying but true). Duvall plays a VERY VERY flawed haracter. Several reviewers would have you believe that he is somehow "redeemed" at the end. Really? Because he so-called saves Billy Bob Thorntons character and that other young man? Give... more info
• What Exactly is he Trying to Say?
  I am not really sure what to think about this movie. As a Pentecostal myself, I found it to be a good (although slightly exaggerated) portrayal of classic Pentecostalism. However, I am disturbed by Sonny's portrayal. How were we supposed to view him? A hypocrite? A sincere but flawed character? I notice from several reviews that this film is interpreted many different ways, and I can only give it three stars. Great acting, great depiction of Pentecostals, but very ambiguous message.

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