The Apostle

The Apostle

The Apostle

The Apostle hit close to home for me. I spent me teenage years attending churches in the holiness tradition. Since about my senior year of high school, I have grown increasingly skeptical of the emotional and spiritual experiences displayed in these Pentecostal churches. Because of my skepticism, I am glad I watched this film. Maybe somewhere along the journey I dismissed the possibility that God manifests Himself to different people in different ways. In some ways it is easy to dismiss Sonny (Robert Duvall). He is a flawed man. He is divorced, full of lust, and a murderer. However, it is also clear that his faith is enormous and despite his struggles he sees God perform miracles in his mist. Residing within him together with all his shortcomings, Sonny is full of love for God and for other people, especially those who do not yet know Jesus. The amazing accomplishment of this movie is that it shows you Christ in the form of a sinful man. And you can really see it. Over the film's 2 hours and 14 minutes, the audience's love and concern for Sonny grows increasingly stronger. He is a real person; the real Christian everyone wishes they knew because even though they know he is a sinner they also know that he really has a relationship with the God he speaks of. I'm glad I watched this movie. I hope that I am more tolerable to other Christian traditions. I hope that I am more loving and real with people. I hope that in the mist of adversity, in the darkest valley, I know who is with me at all times…Jesus.

Written and directed by Roberty Duvall, I saw on entertainment T.V. in an interview that Robert even put millions of his own dollars into the 'making' of this. Propelling, is just the intro to this superbly crafted, story of doing the 'Gospel' your way. This shows me, many with good intentions can go almost terminally wrong. I was sitting watching this on cable at the hotel, when my wife at that time, would not let me go out with her that morning on her route in Sierra Vista. It wasn't that I would get in the way of her talking to the doctors on her pharmaceutical rounds, due to the fact that she had already ask me to go with her a couple times before and I knew how things shake out with it, it was that she was having an affair with a co-worker and needed to give him a private long distance call, from a pay phone. At any rate, this was probably one of the most upending and unsettling and touching films I had seen in years. It was good that I stayed and watch Duvall's story of betrayal and violence. I came to a better grip with the circumstances that I was in, believe it or not. When he becomes E.F. the Apostle, you can see he seems starting to come apart, just before it happens. There is a much mis-gilded thought life that he has when he boldly steps up and decides that it's better to blame God than to 'take responsibility' for his very own misconduct and rage trouble. Farrah Fawcett provides an aging but provocative ex-wife that can't take the 'jambing' effect that Sonny seems to boldly posses. I.e. the baseball field assault on his ex's new man. It seems that at the end of the assault he just disconnected and said "let's go home now." As if whatever he does, even when totally wrong, he can justify to himself despite the damaged inflicted on anything, or anyone else that is around him then. Then there is the scene at the church with Billy bob's character and they quickly end up in a brawl on the side of the church, while the deacons look on. But that was, what that character of Billy-Bob's needed to respect a man of God. A strong man. A wimp couldn't have probably reached him in the condition he was in right there. I have a lot of respect for Robert Duvall for taking and making something that wouldn't get muddled by Hollywood and it's sense of God. It was different. I got quite a large helping of calm and understanding after my wife had departed our life together. I think I learned even more about human nature and intentions, motives etc. It shows that even when people mess it up, there is always something on a sub-textual level, it's not always just 'Face value'. I am not a Billy Bob fan by the way, but even his character, that came to destroy Sonny's church, and ended up changing his own life in that process. Remember as well, even if he can 'justify' his own bad behavior, God did not let him go on and on, he had to be brought to 'Justice' himself. You can mock God but only for a little while. This film, definitely touched me and caused me to think deeper. Thanks, IMDb.com.... I recommend this to those with discernment about life and people and especially the Bible. (*****)

Over zealous Christians are going to mist likely take this drama about a Pentecostal preacher as a slap in the face of passionate, soul-saving organized religion. It takes a slam dunk look at the way big religion has dumped an over powering feel of judgmentalism on the typical sinner who has turned their backs on religion, either worshiping independently or becoming atheist, agnostic or even involved in satanism. It is Robert Duvall's powerful performance that guides this character study of a flawed man who may have done more harm than good, needing to open his eyes to his own missing spiritual deficiencies and view the world through a larger telescope rather than the binoculars of obsessive bible thumping that doesn't understand the damage it has caused. I have begun to believe that obsessive Christianity is a step to madness, taking on hot topics in sometimes violent ways. Committing sins to stop sins, so to speak, all through as they say over "Holy ghost power". Duvall is certainly on the verge of losing his sanity, like he does with his own church, tossed out for living in sin with equally religious Farrah Fawcett. Duvall continues to pray and praise as he walks down the street, and while that's not enough to make him certifiable, his open sinning yet preaching against similar transgressions. The worship scenes can get rather uncomfortable, reminding me of why I turned to independent spirituality rather than the big halls that had such foot stomping energy that it would make a rise on the Richter scale. In spite of my own personal uncomfortable feeling towards these over the top forms of worship that go way too far. "No speaking in tongues!", the radio station manager warns Duvall when he convinces him to take him on as a religious talk show host. Duvall's journey becomes intriguing to watch, and that's what makes this film less cringe-worthy. This didn't convince me to return to public worship, but it didn't dissuade me from my spiritual emotions, either.

Sonny Dewey (Robert Duvall) is a preacher in Texas. His wife Jessie leaves him for a younger minister. She takes their children and gets his church after a vote. Desperate to see his kids, Sonny beats up Jessie's man with a baseball bat. He goes on the run and ends up in rural Louisiana. He befriends Brother Blackwell and starts dating receptionist Toosie. He starts a new church with new identity Apostle E.F. He preaches on the radio. His mixed congregation enrages a racist (Billy Bob Thornton). Robert Duvall is a master. His character is complex. He is awe inspiring. His journey does meander at times but it is always fascinating. Despite the long running time, it doesn't lag. I love his preaching. The montage of preaching is wonderful. This is a character study of the highest order.

Generally I place entertainment at the top of my list for enjoying a film. Although the acting by Robert Duvall is terrific, the movie fails as entertainment. Two plus hours of what seemed like one long church sermon is close to unbearable. Duvall's character is anything but sympathetic, considering his violent solutions, religious brain wiring of the gullible, and outrageous showmanship. He simply comes across as a religious huckster. I can truthfully say that for me, "The Apostle" was a huge disappointment. I'm sure that to the correct audience it will be vastly appealing. Not recommended here however. .............................. MERK

This movie is another powerful exhibit in the case for why there *should* be an Oscar category for Best Casting. Apart from Mr. Duvall's identifying acting, so rightly hailed elsewhere on this forum, what truly makes this film stand out as so genuine, so founded, so real, is the casting. Take the radio guy, right down to his supermarket-style glasses. Take the Rev. Blackwell, fighting to hold back his bursting enthusiasm for Jesus so as not to have another heart attack. Take the talkative lady who almost clashes with the fat woman with twins - haven't we seen them both in our churches? Take the Church Board representatives at the beginning of the film, I feel like I know a few like them! Take the elderly gentleman with the trumpet, struggling to play but doing it from his heart, I've seen it. And in the midst of it, enter mega-star Billy Bob Thornton - blending into the mix just like one of the rest. Bottom line is, there is simply not one character that doesn't come across as believable simply by *being* there, even before you see them act. Academy, awake, let there be a Casting Category now.

This movie would otherwise be fabulous if it weren't for long -- and I mean looooooong -- stretches of pointlessness, where the action, the drama, comes to a halt. One gets the impression that Duvall either didn't make enough edits, or those working with him were too afraid to make the proper edits during scenes that appear utterly self-indulgent. The best example is at the very worst time: the last scene, in which E.F. is arrested. We get it already: E.F. is quite a preacher. The scene should have ended, truly, at least ten minutes sooner than it did. All the drama associated with the end of E.F's preacher days is zapped by a long, tedious, ultimately pointless scene about him doing his preacher-thing to the congregation while the police officer waits at the back. I challenge anyone to find a meaning in that scene, or in others like it. At over two hours, this film could have benefited from a superior editing job. Instead, Duvall does to the film's drama what E.F. does to his wife's lover: He smacks it into a coma, then kills it. A real shame.