SummaryHe was touched by the power and filled with the spirit. A man of faith. A man of the flesh. A man plagued by the darker side of human desire, and rage. Robert Duvall is Sonny, a gifted Southern preacher loved by his community. When Sonny loses control and commits a crime of passion, he is forced to run from the law. Hiding out in the small town o... Read More
Directed By:Robert Duvall
Written By:Robert Duvall
The Apostle
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
83
User score
Generally Favorable
7.3
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
83
82% Positive
23 Reviews
23 Reviews
14% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
4% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
100
If you want to sample the sheer bouquet of great acting, you could get drunk on this movie.
100
Unusual, unhurried tour de force--a seamless match of strong artistic vision and physical performance. [19 Dec 1997, p. 52]
90
Duvall's performance is so passionate, so energized, that it's almost eerie: is Sonny acting him or is he acting Sonny?
80
The masterful Duvall skillfully illuminates the paradoxes of a very complex man; he also elicits honest performances from his cast. The zealous churchgoers seem more like real people than actors.
75
A good little movie dominated by a great central performance that's likely to endure. [30 Jan 1998, p.D2]
60
Reminded me somewhat of Archibald MacLeish's famous line that a poem "should not mean but be." That's the reality of The Apostle: It does not mean, it simply is.
25
One of the most self-in-dulgent, muddled, badly written, vague and pointless exercises in filmmaking I have ever had to sit through.
User score
Generally Favorable
7.3
78% Positive
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
11% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
11% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Feb 17, 2026
9
Duvall gives the performance of a lifetime in "The Apostle," a passion project that he wrote, directed, and financed with his own money. He plays Sonny Dewey, an impassioned Texas minister whose life spins out of control when his wife (Farrah Fawcett) runs off with a youth minister, taking his church with her. When he accidentally kills her lover in a fit of rage, he skips town and starts anew in Louisiana as a radio preacher. Rather than play another Elmer Gantry, Duvall gives us a man with a passion for the gospel whose temper sometimes gets the best of him, creating a compellingly flawed character on a path to redemption. The role brought him a much-deserved Oscar bid as Best Actor, so hard to believe he didn't win for this and lost to Jack Nicholson for such a bland performance in "As Good as It Gets."
Production Company:
- Butcher's Run Films
Release Date:Dec 17, 1997
Duration:2 h 14 m
Rating:PG-13
Tagline:Lust, Obsession, Revenge... Redemption
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
Film Independent Spirit Awards
• 3 Wins & 6 Nominations
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
