Wesley (2009)

Director:

John Jackman

Writers:

Carolyn Haywood (screenplay)
John Jackman (writer)

Release Date:

2009 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

The year is 1732. John Wesley, an irritatingly self-righteous instructor at Oxford is offered the chance to go to the new colony of Georgia...

Plot Keywords:

Social Ministry | John Wesley | Georgia | Missionary | Charles Wesley

Status:

Completed | See complete list of 12,000 in-production titles »

Status Updated:

21 October 2009

More Info:

See more production information about Wesley (2009) only on IMDbPro.

Note:

Because this project is categorized as being in production, the data is subject to change; some data could be removed completely.

Cast

Burgess Jenkins	...	John Wesley
R. Keith Harris	...	Charles Wesley
other cast:
June Lockhart	...	Susanna Wesley
Kevin McCarthy	...	Bishop Ryder
Bill Oberst Jr.	...	Peter Boehler
Christy Johnson	...	Mrs. Hawkins
Roger Willie	...	Cusseta
Robert Harris	...	Prison Warder
Carrie Anne Hunt	...	Sophy Hopkey
Ted Johnson	...	Board Member
Rachel St. Gelais	...	School girl
Jim Babel	...	Footman
Bill Pacer	...	First Mate
Rusty Martin	...	Young John Wesley
Justin St. Gelais	...	School boy
Dave Blamy	...	Father
David Lowe	...	John Romley
Devin McGee	...	Young Man
Edd Robinson	...	Coal miner
Tom Barker	...	Herr Toltschig (as Thomas Barker)
Mark Alton Rose	...	Dr. Hawkins
Davis Osborne	...	Sailor
Steven St. Gelais	...	School boy
Josh Long	...	David Nitschmann
Reid Dalton	...	Rector
Thomas Upchurch	...	Mr. Bray
Jim McKeny	...	Tom Causton
Hilary Russo	...	Mary Musgrove
Terry Nienhuis	...	James Locke
Scott Reynolds	...	Bishop
Renee St. Gelais	...	School girl
Jeff Luckadoo	...	Constable
Randy Bernard	...	Furniss
Cricket Ellis	...	Innkeeper's Wife
Mark Boynton	...	Oglethorpe
Alex Dillard	...	Singing drunk
Tommy Flaherty	...	Drunk
Leanne Bernard	...	Grace Murray
Michael Huie	...	Samuel Wesley
Stefan Schuette	...	Congregate
Jessica Marks	...	Teenage Girl
Molotov Mitchell	...	Workman
James France	...	Wealthy Mine Owner
Sasha Morfaw	...	Moravian Singer
James Tunstall	...	Benjamin Ingham
Kai Elijah Hamilton	...	Mob Man
R. Manley Lucas	...	Chairman
Gene Johnson	...	Ship Captain
Mike O'Neil	...	Davison
Caleb Stein	...	School boy
Kelli Coffman	...	Drunk Woman
Richard F. Strohmeier	...	Elderly Priest
E.R. Haire	...	Innkeeper
J. Hampton Rowe	...	Harker
Patricia Mitchell	...	Coal Miner's Wife
Les Puryear	...	Vicar
Shelton Grant	...	Cicero
Josh Stein	...	Town Crier
Eric Cover	...	William Seward
Lloyd Arneach	...	Tomochichi
Peter Bost	...	Dick Baker
Ray Collins	...	Angry Bishop
Suzanne Feehely	...	Mine Owner's Wife
Paul Miller	...	George Whitefield
Erik Nelson	...	Delamotte
Troy Wilson	...	Singing Moravian
Susan Molenda	...	Mrs. Causton
Sara Fineran	...	Mrs. Welch
Dennis T. Ferrell	...	Thug
Clark Sanders	...	Mr. Smithers
Bobby Hege	...	Attacker
Peter Savage	...	Mr. Williamson
Todd Ferrell	...	Thug 1
John Stein	...	Mr. White

Runtime:

USA:110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Old Salem, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Foundery Pictures

Trivia:

One of the horses that John Wesley rides in the movie was a gift from the Fernando Henrique Cardoso, President of Brazil to President Bill Clinton. Since US presidents cannot accept personal gifts, the horse was given to the US Park Service, which in tern donated it to the Methodist Children's Home in Winston-Salem, NC

great religious biography

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Disclaimers first - I am a United Methodist minister and so I am biased by my love for Wesley as our denomination's founder. Nonetheless, I am also a movie fanatic and so when I had a chance to see a nearly complete version of this film back in October, I was very excited, but also somewhat apprehensive.

My distaste of religious films has always been great ever since i saw A thief in the Night back in the 1980s and Left Behind in more recent years. Wesley however, has broken that chain of crap for me.

It was a very well done movie. It was beautifully filmed and the acting is excellent (with the exception of a few small potatoes supporting actors). The actors who play John and Charles have a great chemistry together, and John and Sophey Hopkey's scenes together are wonderful as well. The director did a great job portraying their sexual chemistry, while remaining true to Wesley's own diaries and journals. He does not embellish the story so far as i can tell, and keeps the action moving along well until the last 20 minutes or so.

It is after Wesley's return to England and his "conversion" that the movie drags. Until that point, the movie moves fluidly. Back in England though, it stumbles under its own desire to be historically accurate and give the whole story. There are just a few too many scenes of Wesley's preaching "successes" and his organizational meetings.

The film succeeds on many levels - accurately portraying Wesley's willingness to talk with persons of all backgrounds in order to learn from their faith journeys, it accurately portrays Wesley's ocd and his struggles with adapting to his setting, and finally, it accurately portrays his struggles with the powers that be in the Church of England. Where it falters is trying to tell too much of Wesley's story in the first year after his conversion. The director would have been better served by focusing on John's first exposure to slavery and his lifelong opposition to the practice.

Finally, and for many viewers, the most important part is this: the film does not hesitate in proclaiming the Christian gospel. It is true to Wesley's passion to save souls and it offers a moving portrait of his love for God and the church. Well worth your time.