The Gospel
From Harpo's Juke Joint
The Gospel is a modern retelling of the Bible parable "The Prodigal Son" by Rob Hardy. Overall, the film's weak script and cinematography problems garnered negative reviews, and grossed just over $15 million domestically. However, since the film only cost $4 million to make, it is not considered a bomb by traditional Hollywood standards.
| The Gospel | ||
 See it! Live it! Spread it!
| ||
| view the trailer | ||
| Directed by Rob Hardy | ||
| Released | October 7, 2005 | |
| Distributor | Sony Pictures | |
| Length | 105 min | |
| Starring | Boris Kodjoe Idris Elba Nona Gaye Clifton Powell Omar Gooding Tamyra Gray | |
| Rated | PG | |
| Total gross | $15,778,152 | |
| Website | http://gospelmovie.com/ | |
| Fanlisting | n/a | |
| buy the DVD at Amazon | ||
| Soundtrack by various artists | ||
| Length | n/a | |
| Label | Verity Records | |
| Producer(s) | Kirk Franklin | |
| buy the soundtrack at Amazon | ||
| Rob Hardy timeline | ||
|---|---|---|
| Trois 2 (2002) | The Gospel (2005) | n/a
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Plot
The film begins in 1992, and young David Taylor (Michael J. Pagan), the son of Pastor Fred Taylor (Clifton Powell) is a future minister blessed with the gift of song. David divides his time between school, church, and hanging out with his best friend and fellow minister-in-training, Charles Frank, who has an eye for his cousin Charlene. During a class, David learns that his mother has suddenly fallen ill. He rushes to the hospital in time to say goodbye, but his father, having been away at church business, is too late. Furious with his father's ongoing abscences, he leaves the hospital, accidentally dropping his Bible.
Fifteen years later, David (Boris Kodjoe) is a superstar on the rise, with his hit song "Let Me Undress You". Having long abandoned any thoughts of becoming a minster, David and his manager Wesley (Omar Gooding) are living the fast life - far from David's humble church roots. One day, David receives a phone call from Miss Ernestine (Aloma Wright), the church secretary, who informs David that his father is sick. Though David is in the middle of a contract negotiation with the producer of "Undress You", he informs Wesley that he needs to return home, and Wesley promises to cover David's back until his return.
David arrives in Atlanta on Sunday morning, and he heads to the only place his father could possibly be: New Revelations Baptist Church. But instead of seeing his father giving the sermon, David's old friend Frank (Idris Elba) is preaching. Not only is Frank poised to become Bishop Taylor's successor, but he is now married to David's cousin Charlene (Nona Gaye). Charlene is thrilled to see her cousin after so many years, but Frank is standoffish, later commenting about David's sudden arrival and striking a nerve with his wife. Frank is quick to point out that they have their own problems, as their marriage is cordial, but strained, with Charlene constantly rebuffing Frank's attempts at sexual contact.
David isn't the only one stunned at the news of Frank taking Bishop Taylor's place; the assistant minister of New Revelations, Minister Hunter (Donnie McClurkin) tells Bishop Taylor that he always thought that he would take the place of the bishop. Meanwhile, David is told that his father has prostate cancer - and that he was the last to know about it. Later, David confronts Frank to ask him why didn't he tell David that his father was sick, and tells David that it's not his responsibility to tell him about his own father. Consumed with guilt and concern, David decides to stay with his father, putting his musical career in jeopardy. While in Atlanta, he rediscovers his love for gospel music, and becomes fond of a single mother named Rain (Tamyra Gray), who isn't swept away by David's impending fame or fortune.
Things seem to be gingerly in place until Bis. Taylor succumbs to cancer, thrusting Frank into the role of pastor and David into a spiral of grief. Still, he manages to pull himself together in time to organize an all-star gospel concert, which will double as a farewell concert to his father as well as a celebration of Frank's ascent to pastor. Frank, who has been all but hypnotized by the power that will come with having his own church, makes light of David's contributions to the celebration, despite the fact that it's almost entirely David's doing. The two men at each other's throats is particularly painful for Charlene. On top of the loss of her uncle and her ongoing doctor's appointments, she now has to play peacemaker between her cousin and her husband, who is becoming more and more intolerable by the day. Eventually, sides will taken and lines will be drawn, with the crumbling relationships threatening themselves as well as the future of New Revelations.
Trivia
- Tamyra Gray's church choir was used for many of the movie's scenes. Surprisingly, Gray never participated in her church's choir pre-American Idol. In fact, Gray says she didn't begin singing until she was around 13.
- Gospel singer Donnie McClurkin, who plays Minister Hunter, does not perform on the album's soundtrack.
- The elderly lady seen singing "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" at the Hardy-Packer Retirement Center is gospel legend Delores Winans. Packer makes a brief cameo in Gospel as a volunteer at the retirement center.
- During the scene where David first gets out of bed to talk to Miss Ernestine, look closely - there are two heads in David's bed. It was meant to be suggested that David had sex with two girls at once, but the idea was scrapped so as not to risk the PG rating.
- When Charlene tells her husband, "You quote Scripture and know the Bible backward and forward, but you have no clue," she is summarizing a Bible verse: "Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving" (Isaiah 6:9).
- In Frank's computer room, there is a close-up of an award given to Rev. Frank from Florida A&M University. FAMU is the alma mater of Gospel director Hardy, and producer Will Packer.
- Boris Kodjoe and Nona Gaye became the first non-gospel artists to be featured on the cover of gospel magazine Xii (pronounced "twelve"). The cover was a double-sided issue, with Kirk Frankin (who produced most of the film's tracks) on the other side.
Goofs & Plot Holes
- The choir at New Revelations Baptist Church have choir robes with VBC written on them. A common name for southern churches is Victory Baptist Church.
- In the promotional kits, it's stated that David is "surprised" to learn that Frank married his cousin Charlene. In the film, he shows no surprise at seeing them together, nor it is it ever mentioned to David that they two are married, suggesting that David already knew. This - along with Miss Ernestine having David's contact information - suggests that the 15-year parting between David and his father wasn't a complete separation.
- David is seen throwing a champagne bottle against a corked bulletin board, causing the bottle to shatter. Glass bottles are notoriously thick, and even a regular beer bottle would not have shattered against the surface, much less a champagne bottle.
- It is suggested towards the end of the film that Charlene leaked the Sandstone story to the press. But that isn't possible, as the story was all over the news beforehand due to the story being released by Sandstone himself. In fact, during a television show, Charlene and Wesley are shown watching David talk about the scandal. It is during the taping of the show that Charlene calls in a favor from a friend. Yet later in the film, Frank asks his wife if she was responsible for the story leaking, and Charlene claims responsibility because "I have to protect the church, Frank."
- David's mother's tombstone reveals that she died in the year 1992. Later, we see the words "fifteen years later", and David is in Los Angeles. In that case, The Gospel doesn't begin until the year 2007. The film was released in 2005.
- There is no explanation as to why an assistant pastor owns such a large house, which included a flat screen television for Frank's office. (A possible suggestion is that Charlene, having been identified as New Revelations' legal counsel, could have been an attorney.)
- Towards the end of the film, David is seen drinking some sort of hard liquor - in fact, half the bottle is gone. Yet he is able to drive all night and day without crashing or even being stopped, nor does he show any signs of drunkenness or being hung over.
- In the middle of a fight between Frank and Charlene, Charlene angrily suggests that her husband feels that she's less of a woman because of "the way you look at me, the way you touch me!" Yet Frank is shown throughout the film as being very affectionate towards his wife. It is Charlene who constantly keeps her husband at bay.
