Sonny's soul is beyond reach

THE APOSTLE (1997)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Original Review from 1997

Sonny Dewey is the most richly enigmatic character Robert Duvall has ever played - a Pentecostal preacher from Texas who sees himself as God's messenger yet he's also a sinner, a man prone to violence. "The Apostle" is Duvall's third directorial effort, and it is an uncompromising effort but it is not as successful a portrait of a torn man as I had expected.

At the start of the film, we see Sonny stopping to see the severe wreckage from a bad car accident. He runs over to a badly wounded driver and tells him that the Lord will save him. Somebody better tell Sonny that the Lord should save him, too. Sonny's wife (Farrah Fawcett) is about to divorce him, although he doesn't want to be separated from his kids. Eventually, Sonny takes out his anger on his wife's lover, a pastor, whom he knocks out with a baseball bat at his kids' baseball game. Knowing that he may face prison time, Sonny skips town and decides to rebaptize himself as E.F., the Apostle. In the process, he leaves behind his old mother (country singer June Carter Cash) and his two lovely
children in Texas.

Sonny migrates to a chiefly black bayou town called Lafayette in Louisiana where, within minutes, he casts a spell on the entire population. A DJ already knows him as "The Apostle" and lets Sonny advertise on the local radio station about finding some followers, as long as he doesn't speak in tongues. A young mechanic lets Sonny stay at his house and gives him a sports car. Sonny eventually convinces a retired local minister (John Beasley) to rebuild a church, and persuades many black churchgoers to join his congregation by giving away food supplies and by chanting with great energy on the air waves. He's a man impossible to resist and to dislike - a man eager to please God and all who follow Him. A secretary (Miranda Richardson) is also struck by his charisma, and begins dating him.

Sonny's past, however, continues to intrude upon his escape. His mother is dying, and his wife is ready to send the police after him since the pastor he conked in the head is in a coma. But Sonny is not going down without a fight - he's on God's side and always asks Him for advice.

The one question we're left with in "The Apostle" is just who is Sonny? As Kris Kristofferson once put it, he's a walking contradiction. Sonny loves God and seeks to carry out his Word, but he doesn't necessarily practice what he preaches. For starters, he's a man prone to violence considering he knocks out his wife's lover, and has a fist fight with a redneck racist (Billy Bob Thornton) at his new church. There are obviously demons that Sonny has to grapple with, but what are they? Where does his violent behavior stem from? I have known some ministers to do wild things and go to prison as punishment -
they are only human, after all - but what kind of man is Sonny beyond his wild acts of faith and his sermons?

The problem lies not with Duvall's performance, but with the various plot holes in the story. For one, why is he thrown out of his congregation in Texas when everyone seems to love him? Did his wife actually run it? And why does his wife leave him? There is something to suggest that Sonny is a philanderer but writer-director Duvall never dwells into it, or Sonny's past. 

"The Apostle" is an accomplished piece of filmmaking; it is well-acted and well-staged. The scenes in the churches where everyone preaches and sings to the Lord are dazzling and enticing to witness. An interesting sideline to the film is that most of the supporting players are actual churchgoers in Lafayette
bringing a level of authenticity that Hollywood rarely reaches. Particularly compelling is Robert Duvall who brings a certain dignity and humanity that should not go unrewarded or unnoticed - he's always on the move, and always dancing and praising the Lord with vigor. Also worth mentioning is the
ubiquitous Billy Bob Thornton as the redneck who has an incredible scene where he threatens to bulldoze Sonny's church and, right before our eyes, Sonny manages to convert him.

"The Apostle" is a fine film made in the same spirit and atmospheric look as Billy Bob Thornton's own directorial effort "Sling Blade," another tale set in the South. Both films succeed in documenting the people in the South without condescending them or presenting them as stereotypes. "The Apostle," however, is more likely to be remembered for Duvall's tour-de-force performance than anything else. Like "Kundun," another film about a spiritual leader, "The Apostle" leaves you with more questions than answers.

Good Man in a Bad Vampiric Time

FRIGHT NIGHT (1985)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

An undying pleasure awaits for those who like comedy-horror done with style and wit. One of the best vampire flicks in ages, "Fright Night" is grand entertainment - rollicking good fun with an expert cast and a daintily enjoyable script.

William Ragsdale stars as Charlie Brewster, a naive high-school student who suspects that his new next-door neighbor, Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon), is a vampire. He sees Jerry luring prostitutes and call-girls to his house, even undressing them and biting their necks! Charlie is ever the voyeur, watching these acts of violence with his trusty binoculars, and is less attentive to his girlfriend, Amy (Amanda Bearse). Of course, when Charlie reports the unholy vampiric duties in the neighborhood to the police, he is disbelieved, even by washed-up actor, Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall), a former host of vampire flicks. Charlie's giggling, posturing, Jack Nicholson-like friend, Evil Ed (Stephen Geoffreys) is no help either.

There is an element of Anthony Perkins to William Ragsdale as Charlie in the way of his gestures, his frightened, sweaty face, and his aw-shucks mentality - they mirror Perkins completely. Ragsdale would have been a fitting replacement in the "Psycho" remake. The vampire, Jerry, as played by Chris Sarandon is suave, handsome, romantic, whistles "Strangers in the Night," and eats apples. He is not like any traditional vampire but he has charm, elegance, and is believably frightening at times. Jerry even has a roommate, Billy Cole (Jonathan Stark), who is not a vampire yet not entirely human either.

The camaraderie between Charlie, Amy, Evil Ed, and the older, wiser Peter Vincent is at the heart of "Fright Night" - without them, the film would be a futile exercise in gruesome special-effects. Their exchanges and witticisms make this a cut above the norm. There are the usual cliches about vampire lore, but all done with great humor. Consider the scene where Charlie seeks advice from Ed on how to destroy a vampire - Ed explains all the rules but with such relish that it seems all new and fresh. There's also a great early scene where Charlie meets Peter and tries to convince him that vampires do exist. McDowall brings a level of poignance to the scene, addressing how nobody believes in vampire movies anymore - "They prefer men in ski masks hacking up young virgins."

"Fright Night" also has its share of frightful scenes and some bloody, tongue-in-cheek special-effects. There are red-eyed wolves, female vampires with grotesquely big mouths, erotic club scenes (the dance between Sarandon and Bearse builds with sensual energy), skinless bats, hidden coffins, gallons of neon green blood, gothic houses surrounded by fog, and the usual brand of crosses, stakes, and vials of holy water. It all leads, of course, to the inevitable question of faith.

"Fright Night" becomes over-the-top towards the end and repetitious, but it is mostly a consistent balance of fright and fun. Sarandon and McDowall are perfectly cast - rising above all the horror with splendid, memorable performances. 1985 was not a bad year for comedy-horror and vice-versa. This film along with the cult classic "The Return of the Living Dead," "Critters," among others showed how much fun filmmakers could have with the genre. This show is a real treat to savor.

A World of Good

ULEE'S GOLD (1997)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

(Original review from 1997)

The late 60's and early 70's were arguably the most influential and revolutionary years of personal filmmaking in history. Therefore, there must be something said for the long-lost actors of that time who are suddenly popping out now and reinventing themselves. John Travolta is the most phenomenal of the

70's artifacts because he has come back stronger and better than ever. Peter Fonda is not really an icon (unless you consider his "Easy Rider" role to be one) but for the first time in twenty years, he gives a performance of such subtlety and strength that I became deeply overwhelmed.

"Ulee's Gold" stars Fonda as Ulee Jackson, a Florida beekeeper who is trying to hold a dysfunctional family together. He is a Vietnam veteran whose wife died several years ago, and now he has two granddaughters at home, a son in jail, and his bees to take care of. Ulee's older granddaughter is a brash teenager who wants her life to be separate from their supposed family circle - she truly
hates her mother for having left them. Ulee's jailed son begs him to pick up his sick, drugged wife (Christine Dunford) in Orlando since he's hoping to be out soon to join his family. Ulee is hesitant at first because she fled from her kids and has left him to raise them - Ulee is a righteous person who has
shielded himself from others even society (not unlike his daughter-in-law). Trouble is coming his way, though, when his son's thieving partners are searching for a stash of money hidden in Ulee's bee farm.

"Ulee's Gold" is written and directed by Victor Nunez ("Ruby in Paradise"), and as long as he sticks to Ulee's loss of love and mixed feelings about his family, the film is genuinely heartbreaking. However, when the rotten thieves show up packing pistols and molesting Ulee's older granddaughter, the film
briefly stops and only barely recovers. This whole subplot is meant to show Ulee's redemption and while it isn't manipulative, sentimental or sensational, it isn't particularly engaging or interesting either. The screenplay spends too much time dealing with these lowlifes in a been-there-done-that atmosphere. The moment where Ulee kicks the thieves' gun into the pond rather than shooting them with it is a moment of pure humanity but it is too brief to resonate. The rest of the film teeters on the melodramatic whereas the tightly structured first half of the film relied on simple human observation as its tactic.

The best moments in "Ulee's Gold" are the quiet ones: Ulee extracting honey from the bees in his workshop; his delicate bedtime stories with his innocent younger granddaughter (Vanessa Zima) who is inquisitive about her mother's condition; his developing relationship with a caring nurse (Patricia
Richardson); the bitterness between Ulee and his son in the prison scenes; and even the scenes where Ulee tries to reason with the thieves claiming they've done him "a world of good."

"Ulee's Gold" is fluidly directed by Nunez, and beautifully performed especially Fonda who brings a gleam and sense of regret in his eyes that is as pure as gold (he was nominated for an Oscar). Kudos must also go to Christine Dunford (should have been nominated) who is riveting to watch as she struggles through her self-destructive, drug-induced convulsions to becoming a mature woman and responsible mother who is full of regret as well. The dichotomy between Ulee and his daughter-in-law unmistakably presents them as people analogous in their loss of love and emotions. If the film stuck to these vivid, three-dimensional characters, it would have been a masterpiece. As it is, "Ulee's Gold" is only half of a great film, and ends abruptly just as the story starts to get more interesting.

Towering Wilderness Inferno

THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD (2021)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

In a title that seems to echo an unmade Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western, Angelina Jolie returns to the cinema screens to imbue us with her crackling presence. Jolie crackles indeed and she burnishes the screen with a phosphorescent glow that is apropos for the action thriller dynamics of "Those Who Wish Me Dead." The film works technically as pop entertainment, has good performances and is well-made yet the characters needed more nourishment at the screenplay level.

Jolie plays Hannah Faber, a smokejumper who is mostly confined to a fire lookout tower with no bathroom. Hannah is guilt-ridden over a tragic forest fire where she failed to save some children who perished (to be fair, it seems almost an impossible rescue from the occasional flashbacks we see). Hanna's exposition is set up nicely, including her curious need to be a daredevil by parachuting while standing in the back of a speeding truck. This is the perfect kind of wild, untamed character for Jolie to play, a woman who is a little crazy yet her weakness is her PTSD. Yet "Those Who Wish Me Dead" has a curious habit of setting up supporting characters who could almost anchor this story as well. We have a forensic accountant and his son who are on the run from some fairly cold-blooded assassin brothers (exceedingly well-played by Aidan Gillen and Nicholas Hoult). The kids' father dies quickly in a planned shootout that seems too contrived. The kid, known as Connor (Finn Little), escapes unnoticed until he runs into Hannah. She helps out the kid and wants to protect him and they stay in the tower. The assassins discover there is a liability, the kid as a witness, so they decide to literally scorch the earth searching for him by performing arson duties in the forest. Um, if the kid burns to death in that vast wilderness, how will the killers know so they can report it back to their boss? I don't look for logic in these movies but that is a hard twist to ignore, especially when you consider they ignite a wilderness fire and are still looking for the local sheriff who they believe is harboring the boy. Pardon?

The local sheriff, by the way, is Ethan Sawyer (Jon Bernthal), who once dated Hannah, and is now married to the very pregnant wife Allison (Medina Senghore). They run a wilderness survival camp and the intimate scenes between Ethan and Allison are so good, so touching in their affection for each other that a separate movie could've been made about them. Yet the screenplay introduces characters with some measure of personality and then abandons them until it is convenient to bring them back and face certain death from these assassins. Allison ably defends herself against both and even (SPOILERS) defends Hannah and the kid so why is Hannah needed as the protector? Allison could have been the lead character yet the one who is presented as heroic is Hannah. I suppose it is more acceptable for filmmakers to have a grand inferno finale that, though unbelievable in hindsight, gives Jolie the impetus to be the savior because such actions warrant a redemption that is never fully realized.

"Those Who Wish Me Dead" is fleetingly a fair and somewhat entertaining thriller by Taylor Sheridan and Jolie strikes a deep chord yet the issue I have is that the supporting characters are just as interesting.  Maybe Jolie, Connor and the couple should've been in that 50 foot tower together and then you would have had a probing character study with the prospect of danger from the assassins and the inferno. As is, scenes often trample over each other with too little story or character definition that would otherwise have given this a major lift. I only wished for more orderly structure.

Suspense at a Heartbeat pace

 ALONE (2020)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"Alone" is a chilling, unforgettable experiment in pure, realistic, unforgiving terror. It is so unforgiving that a consistent, almost human-like heartbeat plays throughout the soundtrack. The story of a woman in peril as she is chased by a killer is hardly news in the cinematic world, but its unrelenting tone and some eerie images give it more than a lift - it is one of the best thrillers of its kind in ages.

The film starts simply enough with a widow, Jessica (Jules Wilcox), who is moving away and driving to some undisclosed location with a small U-HAUL trailer. She leaves a house plant on the road and takes off from Portland, Oregon heading north. The film doesn't slow down for a second once we are introduced to a slow Jeep Cherokee driver on the road she passes. That is a big NO NO! This driver known as Man has a broken arm sling, later apologizes to her, and presumably takes off. However you can't keep a good Man down (pardon the pun) as he keeps running into her (it could almost qualify as a running gag but it is not done so repetitively). When Jessica breaks down on the road, the Man finds her, knocks her out and takes her to a very remote cabin. Just when I thought this would be a claustrophobic thriller and remain in that cabin location for the duration, "Alone" switches quickly to Jessica's wilderness survival mode with the killer on her tail. 

As aforementioned, there is nothing to distinguish "Alone" from several thousand other thrillers other than attitude, a breakneck pace and terrific performances. Credit Jules Wilcox for creating a thoroughly empathetic, strong, smart woman out of Jessica who can't get over the loss of her husband, especially when the killer keeps reminding her of his death - that is her Achilles Heel and he knows it. Marc Menchaca as the Man is, at first glance, a common, friendly, apologetic type of guy and yet his demeanor, though false, gets to you - how can someone like this look normal and perpetrate such willful violence? No motivation is ever given and none is needed. 

Director John Hyams (a journeyman TV director and son of a good director, Peter Hyams) utilizes camera movement and placement where we expect it from a thriller (some overhead shots of the woods shows how nature dwarves us), and yet it all still works on your nerves because of the forceful nature of the actors. There are some scenes that may scream implausibility but I went along with it - they all amp up the terror. "Alone is a tightly controlled, whip-paced thriller that I only wished allowed for a little psychological impact as well. No matter - a shot of a bloodshot Jessica behind a door in one heart-pounding scene and the shot of her vivid, penetrating eyes as she stares at her killer in one crucial moment will keep you awake at night. "Alone" is a first-class ride into suspense nirvana.