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Apostle
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by Universal Home Video
Sales Rank: 16223
Price: $106.99
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Written, directed, and personally financed by Robert Duvall, <I>The Apostle</I> 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, <I>The Apostle</I> 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 <I>The Journey of the Apostle,</I> a documentary featurette about the making of the film. <i>--Jeff Shannon</i>
Viewer Reviews
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 casting is perfect. Walton "Shane Vendrell" Goggins (The Shield) really stands out as Sammy. Duvall discusses Sammy's "born again" scene, saying that Goggin's whole body was shaking as he knelt...it was as if he were actually witnessing a man being born again. Fans of The Shield and its DVD commentaries know that Goggins is the ultimate method actor, isolating himself prior to scenes being filmed, psyching himself up one thousand percent for the performance. He does not disappoint here. He tackles the role of a simple man with a good heart whose life is transformed after encountering a complex man with a stain on his soul (Apostle E.F.).
John Beasley's performance as "Reverend Blackwell" provides a reason to watch the movie all by itself. Sometimes in life we feel that we've given it all, it's time to rest, and the best is behind us. Then we are called to bring about something bigger than we'd ever imagined. That's Reverend Blackwell's fate, and he plays against Apostle E.F. magnificently.
Miranda Richardson as Toosie, the love interest...after Duvall's crime of passion, he attempts to rebuild his life, brick by brick. At one point he tells Toosie (who is separated from her husband) that all he needs is to hold someone who wants to be held. That's his agenda, not hers. She is there when the curtain comes down, but Apostle E.F. ultimately learns that redemption never comes before repentance.
Farrah Fawcett manages the impossible...viewers can sympathize with her marriage to a complex, troubled, controlling man like Apostle E.F. while having mixed feelings about her affair with the youth pastor. There is one chilling scene in which Fawcett, off-camera and in a voice-over, surveys the damage in her marriage (and beyond). She's an anti-hero...flawed, but in a manner that differs from her husband. Two flawed people in a doomed marriage, which sets up the underlying conflict that drives the story.
As if that weren't enough, the late June Carter Cash (as the Apostle's mother) delivers an elegantly understated yet powerful performance. Her presence is fitting as the hymns she sings throughout add to a powerful, masterfully assembled soundtrack.
Note to Robert Duvall: You financed the movie out of your own pocket, and it was worth every penny. Your audience is in your debt.
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