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In New Boston, a rural town of Texas, "Sonny" Dewey
(Duvall), a devout Pentecostal preacher lives with his mother (June Carter Cash) ever since his separation from his wife, Jessie (Farrah Fawcett), and their two children. Although Sonny reluctantly accepts his situation, Jesse's affair with a younger minister, Horace (Todd Allen), tests his
positive spirit. Later, after Jesse secretly gains control of Sonny's church, Sonny vents his anger by striking Horace with a baseball bat during his son's softball game. Sonny's act sends Horace into a coma and forces Sonny to leave town, change his name, and start a new life. Sonny heads for
Louisiana, where, as E.F., he baptizes himself "the Apostle" to God. After preaching from town to town in small tent shows, E.F requests to take charge of a congregation in Bayou Boutte, where the current minister, Rev. Blackwell (John Beasley), plans to retire. E.F. inspires the town by renovating
a run-down church, with the help of a local radio station owner, Elmo (Rick Dial), and an admiring, though married, secretary, Toosie (Miranda Richardson). E.F.'s new congregation comes to love their new preacher. But the troubles do not end for E.F. A local racist (Billy Bob Thornton) threatens
to tear down the new church, until E.F. convinces him to see the way of the Lord. E.F.'s past life also comes back to haunt him: his mother dies, but he is unable to attend the funeral; and Jesse discovers his whereabouts through one of Elmo's radio ads. Through Jesse's tip, the authorities of
Bayou Boutte come to arrest E.F. for his criminal act against Horace. As the police take him to prison, E.F. bids a sad farewell to his church followers. In a prison work camp, E.F. continues preaching to anyone who will listen. It took Robert Duvall 13 years to bring THE APOSTLE to the screen,
and his devotion shows in his work. With loving care, Duvall directs his own material with measured pacing and steady sensitivity. The excessive length of the film (148 minutes) does not pose a problem, because Duvall uses every scene to develop the characters and situations. The most interesting
character, of course, is Sonny, and it is Duvall's performance as this unusual minister that provides the highlight of the film (Duvall also gets excellent work from the others in the cast, including Farrah Fawcett, Miranda Richardson and June Carter Cash). Duvall even tops his own superb
performances in two not dissimilar films, TENDER MERCIES (his 1983 Oscar-winner, and another sin-and-redemption drama), and 1995 s THE STARS LOOK DOWN ON HENRIETTA (where his visionary character inspires those around him). Notwithstanding Duvall's fine writing and tour de force acting, THE
APOSTLE contains a central flaw it never quite overcomes. The film all-too-quickly forgives Sonny's violent act against Horace by encouraging more sympathy for Sonny's plight than anyone else's, and by never showing his character's remorse. Although Sonny is indeed complex, Duvall asks the viewer
to share his point of view too often; in fact, by the protracted grand finale, it's hard to know what to make of all the tearful worshippers saying adieu to Sonny/E.F. Duvall never suggests that the devout Sonny--despite his rascally moments--is any sort of Elmer Gantry, so one must assume that we,
too, must come to love him. (It's not easy, however.). Still, Duvall's attempt to understand--without cynically satirizing--the grassroots "holiness" church movement, the mass devotion to charismatic preachers, and the role of religion in society is more than admirable. For the most part, THE
APOSTLE does justice portraying a major but often neglected area of American life. (Violence, profanity.)
Academy Award Nomination:
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