The Apostle

Devout Pentecostal preacher Eulis "Sonny" Dewey (Robert Duvall) of New Boston, Texas, has a lovely wife (Farrah Fawcett) and two children. But not only has Jessie been cheating on him with a younger minister, Horace (Todd Allen), she has pulled a few strings to gain control of his church. Sonny goes ...more

To its credit, Robert Duvall's The Apostle never lapses into the stereotypes common to films like Elmer Gantry, which portray preachers of questionable moral fibre as hypocrites and charlatans; of the many questions which swirl about Sonny, the utter conviction of his religious beliefs is never open to debate. His belief in salvation is total, and his love for his flock is pure; furthermore, his followers -- the majority of them African-American, further blurring common cinematic stereotypes -- ...more