If 'The Apostle' were a book, it would be turgid to the point of unreadability. The ever-amicable Robert Duvall, who wrote and directed this film, seems to be especially fond of his subject matter, devoting 134 minutes (which felt like 200) to letting his story slowly unfold. We get seemingly endless scenes filled with evangelistic gospel shouting and energetic Jesus worshiping, and even though Duvall is both endearing and consistently convincing in his role as the charismatic preacher, the shouting starts to grate after a while.
My main gripe with this film, and something which hampered my enjoyment of it immensely, is the main character, the apostle E.F. I just don't get him. I don't understand his motives. I am unable to sympathize with him. He doesn't feel vividly human to me in the same way as, say, Jerry Lundegaard from the Coen Brothers' 'Fargo'. He's not someone whose pain I can feel or whose joy I can share in. Despite this he doesn't come across as a caricature or a two-dimensional character; the screenplay is too intelligent for that. The end result is somewhere in the middle - a realistic character whose motives and inspirations are hidden (at least to myself). My secondary gripe is the film's pace; it drags in places, the gospel scenes are far too long, and my guess is the story could well have been told in 90 minutes instead of 134.
In some places the movie's pace lessens the dramatic impact; for instance, a farewell scene that had the potential to be genuinely touching is somewhat trivialized by its pointless length (yes, it's a gospel scene). A sweet scene of redemption wherein a troublemaking redneck finds Jesus in front of a crowd of people (assisted by a teary-eyed Duvall), is cheapened by banal prattling from a radio station deejay broadcasting live from the area ("This is amazing. I am speechless.") When a movie has to tell me what I'm supposed to be feeling about it, I instinctively draw back my emotions and snatch back my suspended disbelief. But maybe that's just me.
Negative as I have sounded up to here, this film has many good points. There is a beautiful and stirring opening scene in which we become acquainted with E.F.'s intense love and faith. The screenplay (the parts of it that aren't regularly intercut with a cry of "Jesus!" anyway) is excellent; the characters are for the most part believable and interesting, and the story itself is brilliant. The lead character, though I find him flawed in many ways, is refreshingly non-stereotypical for a film preacher or, indeed, a film Christian. The acting is superb across the board, and set design, editing and other technical and artistic aspects are very competently handled. I only wish I'd had more fun watching it. 6/10
My main gripe with this film, and something which hampered my enjoyment of it immensely, is the main character, the apostle E.F. I just don't get him. I don't understand his motives. I am unable to sympathize with him. He doesn't feel vividly human to me in the same way as, say, Jerry Lundegaard from the Coen Brothers' 'Fargo'. He's not someone whose pain I can feel or whose joy I can share in. Despite this he doesn't come across as a caricature or a two-dimensional character; the screenplay is too intelligent for that. The end result is somewhere in the middle - a realistic character whose motives and inspirations are hidden (at least to myself). My secondary gripe is the film's pace; it drags in places, the gospel scenes are far too long, and my guess is the story could well have been told in 90 minutes instead of 134.
In some places the movie's pace lessens the dramatic impact; for instance, a farewell scene that had the potential to be genuinely touching is somewhat trivialized by its pointless length (yes, it's a gospel scene). A sweet scene of redemption wherein a troublemaking redneck finds Jesus in front of a crowd of people (assisted by a teary-eyed Duvall), is cheapened by banal prattling from a radio station deejay broadcasting live from the area ("This is amazing. I am speechless.") When a movie has to tell me what I'm supposed to be feeling about it, I instinctively draw back my emotions and snatch back my suspended disbelief. But maybe that's just me.
Negative as I have sounded up to here, this film has many good points. There is a beautiful and stirring opening scene in which we become acquainted with E.F.'s intense love and faith. The screenplay (the parts of it that aren't regularly intercut with a cry of "Jesus!" anyway) is excellent; the characters are for the most part believable and interesting, and the story itself is brilliant. The lead character, though I find him flawed in many ways, is refreshingly non-stereotypical for a film preacher or, indeed, a film Christian. The acting is superb across the board, and set design, editing and other technical and artistic aspects are very competently handled. I only wish I'd had more fun watching it. 6/10