The Apostle

Infobox_Film
name = The Apostle


caption = "The Apostle" film poster
director = Robert Duvall
producer = Steven Brown Rob Carliner Robert Duvall
writer = Robert Duvall
starring = Robert Duvall Farrah Fawcett Miranda Richardson Billy Bob Thornton
June Carter Cash
Todd Allen
music = David Mansfield
cinematography = Barry Markowitz
editing = Stephen Mack
distributor = October Films
released = December 17, 1997
runtime = 134 min.
language = English
imdb_id = 0118632|

"The Apostle" is a 1997 movie, written and directed by Robert Duvall, who stars in the title role. John Beasley, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Bob Thornton, June Carter Cash, and Miranda Richardson also appear. It was filmed in and around Dallas, Texas, as well as in Louisiana.

Plot

Sonny (Duvall) is a Texan charismatic-Pentecostal Christian minister with a wandering eye. As a result of his infidelity, his wife Jessie (portrayed by Fawcett) has begun a relationship with a youth minister named Horace. Despite Sonny's desire, she refuses to be reconciled, although she assures him that she will not interfere with his right to see his children. She has also conspired to use their church's bylaws to have him removed from power. Sonny struggles with these happenings and asks God what to do. It is clear from a scene at his church that much of the congregation sides with Sonny in this dispute. Sonny, however, refuses to start a new church, saying that the church which forced him out was "his" church. At his child's Little League game, Sonny, in an emotional fit, attacks Horace with a bat and puts him into a coma.

A fleeing Sonny (now calling himself "The Apostle E.F.") ditches his car in a river and gets rid of his identifying information. He eventually ends up in Louisiana, where he convinces a retired minister named Blackwell (John Beasely) to help him start a new church. With Sonny's energy and charisma, the church soon has a faithful and racially-integrated flock. Sonny even succeeds in converting a racist bigot (played by Thornton) who shows up at a church picnic intent on destruction. Eventually, though, Jessie hears her ex-husband's preaching on the radio and calls the Texas state police. They show up in the middle of a sermon but allow him to finish while they wait outside. In the poignant finale, Sonny delivers an impassioned sermon before telling his flock that he has to go.

Themes, Motifs

The major themes of "The Apostle" include forgiveness and accountability. Duvall sympathetically portrays Sonny as a sincere gospel preacher whose passions get the better of him. After fleeing from Texas, he re-baptizes himself -- symbolizing a fresh start -- and seeks to accomplish as much good as possible before his inevitable capture. Sonny's arrest closes the moral circle of the narrative, showing that evil acts do not go unpunished. Yet, his final sermon motivates the fledgling church to carry on a life of faith and good deeds.

Evangelical Christian viewers applauded this film for its emphasis on personal faith and redemption (two of its characters come to crisis-faith experiences) without letting Sonny off the hook. The film also conveys a positive, ecumenical spirit. In one memorable scene, Sonny watches Roman Catholic priests blessing shrimp boats and says, "You do it your way and I do it mine...together we get it done."

Making of

Duvall wrote the script in the 1980s but could not find a studio willing to film it. He eventually decided to direct and finance it himself. It was first screened at the Toronto Film Festival. Thirty minutes into the screening, studio executives began leaving the theater to wheel and deal outside; October Films gained the distribution rights that night. The film went on to have a $21.3 million worldwide theatrical gross, with a combined production and advertising budget of $8 million [ [http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1997/APSTL.php The Apostle - Box Office Data, Movie News, Cast Information - The Numbers ] ] .

In counterpoint to its volatile subject matter, the film has a restrained visual style and employs a large number of non-professional actors to enhance its realism.

For his performance, Duvall was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

oundtrack

Infobox Album
Name = Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture The Apostle
Type = soundtrack
Longtype =
Artist = various


Cover size = 0
Released = February 10, 1998
Recorded =
Genre = Country
Contemporary Christian
Southern Gospel
Length = 50:30
Label = Rising Tide
Producer = Robert Duvall
Scott Greenstein
(executive producers)
Reviews = * Allmusic Rating|3.5|5 [http://wc09.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0zfuxqwjldte link]
Last album =
This album =
Next album =The score for "The Apostle" was scored by David Mansfield. Three songs were by country music artists Lyle Lovett and Patty Loveless and contemporary Christian artist Steven Curtis Chapman, were recorded especially for the film.

The songs, "I Will Not Go Quietly" by Chapman, "Two Coats" by Loveless and "I'm a Soldier in the Army of the Lord" by Lovett were released on a soundtrack album that was supplemented with more exclusive songs "inspired by" (but not included in) the film. The additional tracks include works by Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris (in a duet with Robert Duvall), the Carter Family, the Gaither Vocal Band and the Sounds of Blackness.

Track listing

#"I Will Not Go Quietly" (composed and performed by Steven Curtis Chapman – 3:46
#"Two Coats" (traditional, performed by Patty Loveless) – 3:21
#"I'm a Soldier in the Army of the Lord" (traditional, performed by Lyle Lovett) – 3:29
#"Softly and Tenderly" (traditional, performed by Rebecca Lynn Howard) – 3:05
#"There Is a River" (composed by David Sapp, performed by the Gaither Vocal Band) – 4:24
#"In the Garden" (composed by C. Austin Miles, performed by Johnny Cash) – 3:16
#"I Love to Tell the Story" (traditional, performed by Emmylou Harris and Robert Duvall) – 3:45
#"Waitin' on the Far Side Banks of Jordan" (composed by Terry Smith, performed by the Carter Family) – 3:15
#"Victory Is Mine" (traditional, performed by the Sounds of Blackness) – 3:32
#"There Is Power in the Blood" (traditional, performed by Lari White) – 5:19
#"There Ain't No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down" (composed by Brother Claude Ely, performed by Russ Taff) – 4:54
#"I'll Fly Away" (composed by Albert E. Brumley, performed by Gary Chapman and Wynonna Judd) – 3:47
#"Softly and Tenderly (Reprise)" (traditional, performed by Dino Kartsonakis) – 4:37

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0118632|title=The Apostle
*" [http://artsandfaith.com/t100/2005/entry.php?film=5 The Apostle] " at the [http://artsandfaith.com/t100/ Arts & Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films] list