|
Writer / Director - Robert Duvall
Director of photography
- Barry
Markowitz
Editor - Steve Mack
Music -
David Mansfield
Production
designer - Linda Burton
Producer -
Robert Carliner
October Films. 148
minutes. Rated
PG-13 or mild violence and language and situations regarding adult
sexual indiscretions.
STARRING: Robert Duvall (the Apostle E. F.), Farrah Fawcett (Jessie
Dewey), Miranda Richardson (Toosie), John Beasley (Brother Blackwell),
June Carter Cash (Mrs. Dewey Sr.) and Billy Bob Thornton (Troublemaker).
In his directorial debut, Robert Duvall gives the best
performance of 1997.
Even more
impressive, he wrote it. And it may be the most unapologetic, intimate
portrayal of a religious man in the history of American cinema. Duvall
clearly knows his way to the
heart of southern evangelicalism. To the amazement of audiences accustomed to cruel caricatures,
he reveals that believers of this variety, for all of their
emotionalism and sensationalism, can be noble, hardworking, admirable
people.
This is the story of the
Reverend E.F. -- "Sonny," to those close to him -- a minister whose marital troubles lead him to a violent
crime and a run from the law. It sometimes seems that filmmakers find it
impossible to portray a Christian who isn't hiding some shocking
skeleton in the closet or on the verge of stumbling into serious
criminal behavior. But Duvall isn't interested in attacking faith...
just hypocrisy. He illustrates the fallible humanity
of evangelists, the need for humility in a leader, and the need for
redemption even in (and especially in) a man of God in the spotlight.
E.F. has not overcome all his sins, still tends to have "a
wandering eye" to pretty women, and still wrestles with personal demons
at the end. Thus, the film remains a realistic character sketch rather
than a sermon to audiences that would rather not be preached at.
Duvall's storytelling avoids sentimentalism and leaves a lot of loose
ends, giving the film the authenticity of a good documentary when it
comes to the context, and the intimacy of a candid autobiography.
How rare it is to see a
character who loves and worships God and who, like so many saints, ALSO
sins and gets angry with God. In this, we find a truer example of the
gospel at work than we would in a preachy, two-dimensional story. This
gospel feels applicable to own own lives, unlike the harsh and punishing
prescriptions of judgmental and legalistic TV preachers. This reverend
does not seem so alien and threatening to us when we see his weaknesses,
his heart, and his own incomplete understanding of an incomprehensible
God.
Duvall's story is so simple, he
can take his time and acclimate the audience to the environment, the
needs of the communities, and thus the possibilities of healing and
harmony in broken families and across racial lines. Duvall's supporting
cast includes a surprisingly engaging Farrah Fawcett as his
disillusioned wife, Billy Bob Thornton as a stubborn thick-headed
redneck, and Miranda Richardson in yet another of her astonishing
transformations this time, she's a southern belle through and through.
The enthusiasm of the
congregations in the churches depicted is remarkably genuine, and even
hardened skeptics will find it hard to resist the inspiring power of
those rousing worship services. When seen in combination with the simple
powerful telling of the gospel in Spielberg's Amistad, The
Apostle should have viewers thinking about the gospel in a fresh new
way this year... and I suspect its power will make it an enduring
favorite.
|
