The Apostle is a
1997 film, 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 on location in and around
Saint Martinville and
Des Allemands, Louisiana with some establishing shots done in the
Dallas, Texas area by a second unit before principal photography began.
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. She refuses Sonny's desire 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 asks God what to do. Much of the congregation sides with Sonny in this dispute. Sonny, however, refuses to start a new church, insisting that the one 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 ditches his car in a river and gets rid of all identifying information. He ends up in Louisiana, where (now calling himself "The Apostle E.F.") he convinces a retired minister named Blackwell (played by Beasley) to help him start a new church. He also begins a dating relationship with a local radio station's employee (Richardson).
With Sonny's energy and charisma, the church soon has a faithful and racially integrated flock. Sonny even succeeds in converting a racist bigot (Thornton) who shows up at a church picnic intent on destruction.
Eventually, though, Jessie hears her ex-husband 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.
Cast
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
[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.
The film was screened in the
Un Certain Regard section at the
1998 Cannes Film Festival.
Soundtrack
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
