The Apostle

Sonny is a preacher in Texas. His church is full, his voice is strong and his faith is real. But his wife has left him for a young associate of the congregation, and they have taken the church from him as well. One day he loses his temper and hits the man with a baseball bat. The man goes into a coma. Sonny gets in his car and runs, changes his identity, and settles in a small town in Louisiana. There he gives himself a new name and starts preaching again in an abandoned church. Robert Duvall wrote it, directed it and takes the lead. He financed it with his own money. Duvall carried the project for thirteen years and no studio would back it; in the end he made it by his own means. What is interesting is its position. The narrative does not mock the preacher or present his faith as false; Sonny really believes and really committed a crime. Both are true at once. The preaching scenes were shot with real congregations and largely improvised; rather than learn lines Duvall speaks. He was nominated for the Academy Award for best actor for the part. Church culture in the southern states is given in detail; the music, the speech and how a congregation works are drawn with documentary care. Who it is for: viewers who like character driven American independent film and drama built on religion. Who it is not for: it is long, the pace is slow, and the preaching is repetitive for a viewer with no interest in the subject.