Apostle

Director: Gareth Evans

Writer: Gareth Evans

Dan Stevens … Thomas Richardson

Richard Elfyn … Charles

Paul Higgins … Frank

Bill Milner … Jeremy

Catrin Aaron … Elaine

Kristine Froseth … Ffion

Mark Lewis Jones … Quinn

Lucy Boynton … Andrea

Michael Sheen … Prophet Malcolm

Apostle has a few problems. Continuity, while it doesn’t affect the plotline, seems to be an issue, with wounds on characters’ faces migrating from one side to the other and then vanishing altogether. Between the self-imposed isolation of a paranoid and secretive religious cult, and the general upheaval of the times (Finland in 1905, is a pseudo-autonomous duchy of Russia, then embroiled in a huge revolution and at war with Japan, so it seems odd that the lead female role (Andrea) is immaculately turned out, perm, mascara, lipstick, and a good base. It’s not 1935; it’s OK for the lead female role to look a bit disheveled if that’s what the story calls for.

These are minor flaws, but irritating enough that they threatened to throw me right out of the story a few times.

They didn’t, because Apostle is a solid story, well-told, and with spellbinding pacing and cinematography. Shot in a remote corner of Wales, it features eye-popping scenery, and appears to have been shot in a genuine deserted village.

The first hour and a half of the lengthy movie (over two hours) builds a nice sense of dread and apprehension, with several scenes that grab the viewer by the throat and shakes vigorously.

Thomas, a very burned out missionary turned opium addict, is asked by daddy to come rescue his sister, who has somehow ended up in the clutches of this cult who is holding her ransom. It’s not entirely clear why this happened, or why Thomas is the only option available, but nonetheless he has to go in and rescue her. Which means he has to infiltrate and convince the members of the group that he’s a member, even though he knows nothing at all about the cult or any of its tenets. Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t do very well at this. But he does show unexpected resourcefulness evading the attempts to expose him as ulkopuolinen*, and he enjoys some major, if quite credible lucky breaks.

The biggest break is that the cult itself is on the verge of blowing apart at the seams, and the hideous secret underlying the cult, and of course there’s a hideous secret, has to be dealt with to ensure the total disintegration of the cult.

The movie has flaws, but remains a worthwhile viewing despite these. If you liked the 1973 version of Wicker Man this will be agreeably familiar, but the ending will nonetheless take you by surprise.

Now on Netflix.

• Finnish for ‘outsider”, and yes, I cheated and looked it up.