After his happy life spins out of control, a preacher from Texas changes his name, goes to Louisiana and starts preaching on the radio.
Ratings
Curator score: 6.7/10
IMDb: 7.2/10
Letterboxd: 3.63/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
Metacritic: 83
TMDB: 6.3/10
Director
Robert Duvall
Production
Butcher's Run Productions
Cast
Robert Duvall, Farrah Fawcett, Miranda Richardson, John Beasley, Walton Goggins, Billy Bob Thornton, June Carter Cash, Billy Joe Shaver, Rick Dial, Todd Allen, William Atlas Cole, Kevin Rankin, Renée Victor, Hunter Hayes, Terence Rosemore, Mary Lynette Braxton, Stuart Greer, Daniel Hickman, Emery Hopkins, Jewell Jernigan
Curator Review
Verdict
A raw, deeply human Southern drama with a towering Robert Duvall performance, The Apostle is less a sermon than a character study about sin, grace, and self-deception. Its authenticity, regional texture, and refusal to simplify faith make it stand out from standard inspirational cinema.
Best for
Viewers who like flawed, morally complicated protagonists
Fans of Southern Gothic and regional American dramas
People interested in religion portrayed with ambiguity rather than certainty
Audiences who appreciate actor-driven passion projects
Skip if
You want a fast-paced plot
You prefer cleanly uplifting faith-based stories
You dislike long, talky character studies
You need a tightly polished, studio-style drama
Overview
The Apostle is one of those rare films that feels both intimate and outsized: intimate in its attention to a broken man’s spiritual and emotional life, outsized in the force of Robert Duvall’s performance. It treats religion as lived experience rather than argument, capturing the noise, fervor, and contradictions of revival culture without flattening it into parody or propaganda.
Worth noting
What makes it linger is its moral messiness. Sonny is charismatic, wounded, vain, violent, and sincere all at once, and the film never asks you to resolve him neatly. That tension gives the movie its power, especially in the way it observes community, confession, performance, and the need to start over when a life has collapsed.
Bottom line
It can feel loose and a bit overextended, but the looseness is part of its texture. The film is less interested in plot mechanics than in atmosphere, voice, and spiritual reckoning, which makes it especially rewarding for viewers drawn to Southern Gothic drama and actor-led filmmaking.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Andee Thomas (5★) · 207 likes
"The Apostle" is a movie for (just about) no one. Religious people in America are used to "faith-based" stories that only reinforce the prior held Evangelical Christianity. All of those movies are about people, usually men, who realize that they need to become church goers and "give their lives to Jesus". Those films usually involve them needing to become better fathers and husbands as well. Faith-based stories serve the purpose of conformity to mainstream Christianity as opposed to challenging one's… more "The Apostle" is a movie for (just about) no one. Religious people in America are used to "faith-based" stories that only reinforce the prior held Evangelical Christianity. All of those movies are about people, usually men, who realize that they need to become church goers and "give their lives to Jesus". Those films usually involve them needing to become better fathers and husbands as well. Faith-based stories serve the purpose of conformity to mainstream Christianity as opposed to challenging one's… more
Amy Hensarling (4★) · 83 likes
The Apostle is a sensational Step 3 film. Self-sufficiency ain’t paying off. Lone courage and unaided will can’t rectify. But how to shift from unmanageability to a contented, useful life? Willingness. And continuous action.
Duvall’s Sonny is rife with character defects—violent, alcoholic, womanizer. Loses his temper. Withholds the truth. Sonny baptizes himself before heading to Louisiana to build a new church and start over clean slate as he’s running from the law. What’s most effective (/incredible) is how flawed he… more
madmonsterparty (4★) · 70 likes
For this movie, Robert Duvall has two different real life roles: one as a director and one as an actor.
As a director he does well. It has a nice understated feel to it and helps make it seem realistic and believable.
But as an actor, he's probably the main reason why this might end up coming out ahead. He dominates this movie playing a larger than life character that might, in other actor's hands, could be viewed as over… more
HalloweenH (4★) · 57 likes
A truly BEHEMOTH of a performance by Duvall. The energy it must've taken to write, finance, direct, and give such a ferocious performance, is astonishing. Though I thought it was a little too long, it's a minor complaint. The film has a really good cast. Especially a young Walton Goggins, Farrah Fawcett, John Beasley, and Billy Bob Thornton.
Duvall also gave really good roles to the legendary June Carter Cash and the legendary and notorious Billy Joe Shaver (his episode of Mike Judge's Tales From The Tour Bus is a MUST WATCH)
Highly recommended. Especially if you're a fan of Robert Duvall.
Broken VCR (4.5★) · 49 likes
IT’S PODCAST DAY!
This week on The Broken VCR, we shoot the shit about Bobby Duvall's 1997 southern gothic gospel drama, THE APOSTLE.
Go wash the car as we dive deep into authenticity, the small yet powerful performances of Goggins and Billy Bob, an awkward private screening at The White House, and more. We also pick our top seven films of 1997 in this week's Silver Screen 7!
Turn on, tune in, and drop out with the fellas wherever you get your podcasts. And as always, let us know we’re wrong in the comments.
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
BVCR #191 ON SPOTIFY
BVCR #191 ON APPLE
1998 · Crime, Drama, Thriller · 2h 1m · R · Curator 8.0/10 (147.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, MGM Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A grim moral descent story about ordinary people making catastrophic choices and living with the consequences.