What to Stream: Robert Duvall's Old-Time Religion in 'The Apostle'
The Apostle (1997) Netflix, Amazon Instant, and iTunes
The Basics: Robert Duvall writes, directs, and stars in this Southern-fried story of faith and forgiveness that also features Farrah Fawcett and Billy Bob Thornton.
If You Liked: Sling Blade, Elmer Gantry, and The Great Santini
The Nugget: After bringing his wife’s affair to a violent end, an elderly Texas preacher hightails it to Louisiana in search of a new life and congregation.
Serious explorations of religion can be hard to come by in contemporary American movies. But Duvall dives into the subject with clear-eyed objectivity, never resorting to easy caricature or pat sermonizing in this story of a Pentecostal preacher on the lam who tries to reinvent himself with a new congregation. The movie’s languid pace also affords viewers plenty of time to soak up the rich Deep South atmosphere, terrain that the Maryland-raised director navigates with respect, while also taking care not to romanticize the setting. (Thornton, for example, pops up as a hard-line racist in a cameo role, returning the favor after Duvall had appeared in Sling Blade.) Duvall received his fifth Oscar nomination for his impassioned performance, and although Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets bested him, the fact that he got this passion project made on his terms was almost victory enough.
Photo credit: Open Road Films/Everett
