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Written, directed, and personally financed by Robert Duvall, The Apostle was the culmination of a 14-year effort on the part of its creator, who also stars as the dynamic, God-fearing Texas preacher Euliss "Sonny" Dewey. Vibrantly authentic with its use of real gospel preachers and extras carefully selected from parishes of the deep South, the film treats its complicated characters with the kind of compassion and moral complexity mainstream Hollywood wouldn't dare muster. This is especially true in the case of Sonny, who responds to his wife's infidelity with a crime of passion that sends him on a new and uncharted quest for redemption. Under the assumed identity of "The Apostle E.F.," he settles in a tiny Louisiana town to revive an old church, where he undergoes a transformation of spirit and purpose that enlivens his community. But will the law catch up to him? Does he deserve to be punished? Fueled by Duvall's powerhouse performance, The Apostle refuses to praise or condemn its fascinating central character, leaving the proper degree of forgiveness up to the viewer. Further graced with superb performances by Farrah Fawcett, Miranda Richardson, and Billy Bob Thornton, the film is clearly Duvall's labor of love. The Collector's Edition DVD features a full-length commentary by Duvall and The Journey of the Apostle, a documentary featurette about the making of the film. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
Produced, written, and directed by its star, Robert Duvall, this film addresses without condescension or glibness a subject-religious conviction-that Hollywood generally caricatures. Duvall plays Sonny, a charismatic Pentecostal preacher who dresses in white three-piece suits and has so antagonized his wife (Farrah Fawcett) with his philandering that she's taken up with a younger minister and wrested control of his church. After bashing his rival with a baseball bat, Sonny leaves Texas and shows up in Bayou Boutte, Louisiana, where he rebuilds a church and infuses his mostly black congregants with spiritual ardor before his past catches up with him. Duvall's performance is so passionate, so energized, that it's almost eerie: is Sonny acting him or is he acting Sonny? The supporting players include John Beasley, June Carter Cash, Miranda Richardson, and Billy Bob Thornton. -Daphne Merkin
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker