The Apostle
— How many actors can play winsome and sinister in equal parts? Robert Duvall can. And he can direct it for you too!”
- Director: Robert Duvall
- United States, 1997
It’s amazing The Apostle isn’t better known, despite an Oscar nomination for Duvall’s intense, virtuoso acting performance. Duvall also wrote and directed his labour of love, and financed it himself, having been unable to find a backer throughout the 80s.
Perhaps the material scared them away. A denizen of the weird and colourful world of the evangelical South, preacher Sonny Dewey commits murder and resolves to do good until his inevitable capture by the authorities. In the wrong hands, this might have been cynical or overly dry, but Duvall’s rendering is full of poise and sensitivity.
His preacher is approaching retirement age, crackling with the electric energy of a mission, but more than a little unnerving in private moments. It’s a delicate balance to achieve but Duvall manages to pull it off with something akin to zealous devotion.
See also:
The Queen
Comes highly recommended to even the hardest republicans.
- Originally published: 27 Feb 2007 in Film
Howards End
Some great individual performances. A boon for Forster fans but a bit of a chore for everyone else.
- Originally published: 2 Apr 2007 in Film
Fargo
A masterpiece of underplay and a black comedy à l’époque, Fargo is a Coen watershed.
- Originally published: 25 Feb 2007 in Film
MASH
A confusing mish-mash of dialogue sharply delivered by a wisecracking ensemble.
- Originally published: 12 Apr 2007 in Film
The Last King of Scotland
A masterclass in biopic acting from Forest Whitaker.
- Originally published: 30 Sep 2007 in Film
Who you gonna call?
Hello you, I'm Mike Padgett. I'm not a Princeton curator, Knoxville mayoral candidate, Kentuckian pastor or Arizona journalist, I just share the same name. In fact, I am a consultant working in user experience and information design.
I also enjoy travel, concerts, films and walking.
I'm originally from Yorkshire, England but nowadays I live in Belgium. My current favourite Belgian beer is Black Albert.
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