The Apostle (1997)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Robert Duvall

Writer (WGA):

Robert Duvall (written by)

Release Date:

30 January 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Lust, Obsession, Revenge... Redemption

Plot:

After his happy life spins out of control, a preacher from Texas changes his name, goes to Louisiana and starts preaching on the radio.

Plot Keywords:

Louisiana | Preacher | Texas | Church | Minister

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 11 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Robert Duvall	...	Euliss 'Sonny' Dewey - The Apostle E.F.
Farrah Fawcett	...	Jessie Dewey
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Troublemaker
June Carter Cash	...	Mrs. 'Momma' Dewey Sr.
Miranda Richardson	...	Toosie
Todd Allen	...	Horace
Brother Paul Bagget	...	Tag Team Preacher #3
Lenore Banks	...	Female Sonny Supporter
John Beasley	...	Brother C. Charles Blackwell
Mary Lynette Braxton	...	Mother Blackwell
Brett Brock	...	Helper
Christopher Canady	...	Sister Johnson's Twin
Christian Canady	...	Sister Johnson's Twin
Elizabeth Chisolm	...	Singer
Brother William Atlas Cole	...	Bayou Man

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and a related scene of violence.

Runtime:

134 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:12 | Australia:PG | South Korea:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Iceland:L | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #35500)

Filming Locations:

Collin County, Texas, USA

Company:

Butcher's Run Films

Trivia:

The lines of the radio owner during the scene where Billy Bob Thornton is talked out of bulldozing the church were improvised.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the last scene, the radio DJ is shown without his glasses, but is wearing them an instant later.

Quotes:

Sonny: I'm a genuine, Holy Ghost, Jesus-filled preachin' machine this mornin'!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Moviemaking in Virginia: Take 3 (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

Shine On

Can I get a witness?

I didn't grow up down South, or even in the midwest, but I do know a little bit about the Pentacostal Church and Christian fundamentalism. Robert Duvall is an ambitious actor and film maker, and The Apostle hits home with its perceptive and loving portrayal of country people in the United States. It is refreshing to see that culture portrayed as something other than gaggles of yahoos. The Apostle focuses on the community spirit of the church, and thereby shatters some of the mystery of its appeal in a culture as self-centered as our own. There are no saints in this story, just a protagonist and his supporters trying to make sense of a country in which there is little love and way too much usury. The film is harsh on a number of levels, very no-nonsense though drawn out at various moments. But it's real, and that's more than can be said for ninety per cent of what passes for films about U.S. culture these days. It's said by some folks that Robert Duvall has been trying to make this film for a lot of years, and there are parts of The Apostle that contain faint echoes of his 1983 project Tender Mercies. It hardly matters, since both are interesting films for different reasons. Some day we'll see Robert Duvall as the vast repository of Americana he really is, until then, The Apostle is one of the best testimonies to his strengths that I know of. Can I get a witness?