Paul, Apostle of Christ: a review

Thirteen years after portraying Jesus in The Passion of the Christ, Jim Caviezel returns to biblical dramas in Paul, Apostle of Christ. He plays Luke, Paul's friend, associate, and biographer. The movie follows Luke as he visits Rome during Paul's final days in a Roman Prison.

Faith-based movies tend to disappoint. Lazy scripts, one dimensional characters, and ham-fisted happy endings hinged on someone's emotionally manipulative come to Jesus moment. I don't enjoy rewarding artists for bad art. Given the choice, I'd rather spend my money on a sublime story that has nothing to do with God than fund a cheesy attempt at evangelism masquerading as a movie.

It should be understood, most faith-based films are designed to be evangelistic tools rather than an artistic expression of whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, or admirable. While Christian movie studios claim they hope their films minister to non-Christians, the people they want to reach avoid these movies like an infectious disease. Faith-based films end up only preaching to the choir. They are profitable from a combinations low budgets and the pious masses looking for wholesome Hollywood alternatives.

The people Affirm Films are aware of the trappings of religious audiences, so they crafted a film that is clearly marketed to church folks and doesn't pretend to be anything other than a movie for church folks. In Paul, Apostle of Christ, there is no demand for fans to bring their unsaved friends, no alter call, no happy endings. The film literally concludes with Paul's beheading. Which reminds me, there will be spoilers here. It’s difficult to talk about this movie any other way as the target audience is (or hopefully is) already familiar with the source material.

The predominantly church-going faithful should already be familiar with the characters they see on screen. Paul wrote the epistles. Luke was a physician and likely the author of two New Testament books: Luke and Acts. Nero was the Emperor of Rome who persecuted Christians and turned many of them into martyrs. Priscilla and Aquila were a married couple; tentmakers turned missionaries who frequently helped Paul in his ministry. The performances from Caviezel, James Faulkner (Paul), Joanne Whalley (Pricilla), and John Lynch (Aquilla), are all strong and bring life to these roles.

image courtesy of Affirm Films and Sony Pictures

The bulk of this movie is split between Luke's conversations in the Christian commune as they seek instruction and wise counsel, and inside Paul’s his prison cell where Luke attempts to transcribe the story of Paul's life. These interactions are fictional to the extent it is displayed in the movie. Is that how it really happened? Who knows. Even Paul's execution wasn't documented in the Bible, we only know of the method used from third and fourth century historians named Tertullian and Eusebuis.

There are several additional characters, invented for this movie. Mauritius, the Prefect in charge of Mamertine Prison where Paul was held captive. Octavia, a woman whose husband and child were killed by Roman soldiers. Tarquin, an orphan boy adopted by the Christian community and his cousin Cassius. None of these secondary characters appear in biblical texts and their presence here only creates tension or advances the plot. The daughter of Mauritius is gravely ill, and Mauritius seeks help from Paul and Luke. Octavia's grief divides the community over whether they should remain in Rome or flee to churches elsewhere. It isn't safe for them to stay, but the marginalized people of the city would die without their aid. Tarquin volunteers for a mission to help the Christians escape persecution and is killed while trying to deliver a message to those who could help. Cassius wants revenge for Tarquin's death and forms a plan to lead an armed revolution to overthrow Nero.

As a movie, Paul, Apostle of Christ is slightly more than mediocre. In the world of faith-based films, mediocre is better than most. The cinematography is excellent throughout and the filmmakers succeed in recreating the look and feel of first century Rome. The chemistry between Caviezel and Faulkner is superb, creating a believable friendship between Paul and Luke. However, the pacing is plodding - painfully slow. It lingers too long on shots of flickering candles, landscapes, buildings, and crowded streets absent of any action or elements to serve the story. The dialog was delivered with mixed results, sometimes inspiring - borrowing lines straight from scripture (often with humor as Paul kept telling Luke, "you should write that down"), other times it slipped between modern language and King James English with distracting inconsistency.

This movie shines brightest when it shuns the common Christian movie tropes. It avoids the "everything is better with God" cliché. No one is all good or all bad. Luke demonstrates doubt and insecurity. Priscilla and Aquila struggle over making the right choice when there isn't a good option. Mauritius wants what is best for his family. Even Paul, the titular character expresses regret and admits flaws. The protagonists don't lead anyone to Jesus and the plot isn't resolved with the conversion of an unbeliever. In one scene, Mauritius asked Paul what would happen if he didn't believe in God, to which Paul answered, "I'm not trying to convince you." Throughout the film, we see messy people living messy lives inside a messy world which makes this film set in the ancient world more realistic than modern stories told in most faith-based movies.

Knowing they would be making a film specifically for Christian audiences, Affirm Films crafted a message desperately needed in churches across America. The movie stressed a call to love others unconditionally. Luke attempted to stop Cassius's violence by stressing how love is the only way to defeat evil. Paul reminded Luke how those outside of their faith would recognize them by their love for others. Luke provided medical care to Mauritius's daughter out of love for his enemy. From start to finish, audiences will be urged to put the value of love above power, love above control, love above force, love above violence. Paul, Apostle of Christ demonstrates acceptable room for doubt, fear, and anger. It places women in roles of leadership and influence. It highlights the church’s biblical purpose: to care for orphans and widows, the weak and powerless, the poor and needy.

What we have in Paul, Apostle of Christ is an artistic interpretation of Saint Paul’s last days on earth. I think it’s a good story that could be improved. Over all, we need more movies like Paul, Apostle of Christ and less like God’s Not Dead 3. If you’re the kind of person who enjoys faith-based movies, this one might be the best you’ve ever seen.