Paul, Apostle of Christ

Paul, Apostle of Christ

Starring Jim Caviezel, James Faulkner, Olivier Martinez, Joanne Whalley

Directed by Andrew Hyatt

The Story:
In A.D. 67, Christians are being persecuted by Emperor Nero, who set fire to Rome and blamed the Christians.  In prison, Paul (James Faulkner) is nearing the end of his life, and wants to recount his adventures to his companion Luke (Jim Caviezel) before he dies.  Luke is welcomed in Rome by the persecuted Christians under the leadership of married couple Aquilla (John Lynch) and Priscilla (Joanne Whalley), as they contemplate staying in Rome or leaving for safety.

Prefect Mauritius (Olivier Martinez) is preparing for Paul's execution, but also struggling with an ailing daughter, and his prayers to his gods go unheeded.  Luke - a physician by trade - could heal the girl, but Mauritius refuses to let a Christian see her.  The faith of all these men will be tested, as well as the persecuted Christians in Rome.

The Synopsis:
In 2004, Mel Gibson released "The Passion of the Christ," and it became a monumental hit.  Telling the story of the last days of Jesus on earth, the film never flinched on the most horrific events leading to - and including - the crucifixion.  It was a film that, although catering to the Christian community, also served as a film that could be seen by non-Christians as well, since the story of Jesus is well-chronicled.

When it comes to the events after the Gospels, they become less known to the general populous, and moreso to the Christian community.  Such is the case with "Paul, Apostle of Christ," which served as a watered-down version of "The Passion of the Christ," telling the story of another famed Christian leader at the end of his life.  While Paul recounted to Luke the events that led Luke to write the Book of Acts, the final days of Paul are less well-known than those of Jesus, and it's fairly obvious director Andrew Hyatt took several liberties with the real-life events.

For example: while Paul was indeed imprisoned, there's no word of a prefect named Mauritius who had a sick daughter, who eventually turns to Luke for aid.  This seems like a shoehorned attempt to tie in the theme of forgiveness that's interwoven throughout the film, and is easily the weakest part of the film, as it's so wildly predictable.

While the film could've focused more on Paul telling his story (which would've been a much more interesting film to see, as Paul endured the gauntlet of physical,  emotional, and spiritual trials), the film instead was a disjointed attempt to humanize Paul more, and show that Christians of the early era weren't always in agreement about everything.

For those who don't know, Paul was formerly known as Saul, who was a persecutor of Christians.  He would mercilessly track down those who followed Christ and brutally murdered them, including the first Christian martyr named Stephen who was stoned to death for his faith.  On the road to persecute more Christians, Saul encounters Jesus on the road and is blinded, and when his vision is restored, he becomes a changed man - and becomes the most powerful Christian leader of the day.

Unfortunately, the film only wikipedia-notes these important aspects of his life through quick flashbacks, and instead focuses on the B and C-stories that don't really have much to do with the actual title of the film.

The A-story is the relationship between Paul and Luke, and is the strongest part of the film.  Both Jim Caviezel (who also played Jesus in "The Passion of the Christ," leading to an unintentionally humorous moment here when he's telling the Christians that no one there has walked with Jesus in person, while I almost yell at the screen, "but Jesus is right there!") and James Faulkner give commanding performances, delivering depth and emotion that two longtime friends can give.  They exchange playful banter as they sit in the jail cell, and express their fears and doubts to one another.  While this is no "Frost/Nixon," the duality of the two characters is engaging and entertaining, as well as thought-provoking.

The B-story centers on Mauritius and his ailing daughter.  He's a prefect who adheres to all of Nero's beliefs and worships the different gods of Rome, but none seem to come to his aid when he cries out for help with his daughter.  He's overly friendly to Paul, however, and even invites him to walk in the gardens with him.  This angers his wife, who accuses Mauritius of angering the gods because of his friendship with the Christian.  We then see Mauritius turn on Paul - well, sometimes, but then other times he doesn't - and treat him more harshly, although not as harsh as we'd think he would.  It's like Mauritius wants to believe, but can't bring himself to, but that's never really flushed out in the narrative.  It could've been a great theme of forgiveness, but instead it fizzles out halfway through.

Then there's the C-story, focusing on the persecuted Christians in Rome.  While captured Christians are either put in prison, sent to the Circus (where they're pitted against animals and basically slaughtered for sport), or used as human torches, we never see any of these punishments to fulfillment.  While I'm not a fan of gratuitous violence for the sake of violence, what made "The Passion of the Christ" so memorable is the brutal violence depicted.  Here, we don't see any of the violence firsthand - we see the charred remains of Christians on pikes, and a group of Christians entering the Circus, but don't see the actual events.  This would've had a longer lasting impact for the film, but instead they're just afterthoughts in a film that becomes highly forgetful.

It's interesting to see the Biblical characters of Aquilla and Priscilla take a more center stage however, but even that is inundated with melodramatic friction that should deliver a deeper emotional punch, but instead just becomes a typical husband-wife argument.  Aquilla wants to flee Rome, while Priscilla feels they'll do more good inside Rome and keep the light of Christ shining in an otherwise dark city.  They go back-and-forth, as each devastating event either draws them to one conclusion or the other, like a never-ending game of see-saw.  Also, there's a sect of their group who plans a violent rebellion, which obviously goes against everything Christ taught, but they don't seem to care - and neither do we.

In fact, there's very little about this film that we care for, although we're taught in the film that we're supposed to care a lot.  That has to do with poor storytelling, an over-bloated film that dips its hands in too many hats, and shying away from a hard-R rating that would've driven the point home more forcefully, and instead becomes an easily forgettable tale about a man who should never be forgotten.

The Summary:

The film is a rather soulless endeavor telling the story of the final days of Paul, the strength of Luke, and the persecution of the early Christians, one that will end as a footnote in the annals of Christian films - better than most, but not as great as what it could've been.

The Score: C-