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The Revival

Play trailer 1:38 Poster for The Revival 2017 1h 25m Drama LGBTQ+ Play Trailer Watchlist
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78% Tomatometer 9 Reviews 48% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
A Baptist preacher stays in a secret affair with a young drifter.
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The Revival

Critics Reviews

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Gary Goldstein Los Angeles Times 01/18/2018
The often difficult squaring of religious fervor and sexual longing receives poignant, powerful treatment in "The Revival" ... Go to Full Review
Jon Frosch The Hollywood Reporter 01/02/2018
But it is a worthwhile one, showcasing a pair of deeply gifted leading men and a promising new talent behind the camera. Go to Full Review
Alistair Ryder Gay Essential 10/10/2019
Less a self-acceptance narrative, and more of an exploration of one man's crisis of faith, Samuel Bret Williams' screenplay avoids giving easy resolutions to the character's problems - making for an unrelentingly harrowing viewing experience. Go to Full Review
Cathy Brennan One Room With A View 02/14/2019
2/5
Holds a lot of potential. However, the conclusion will infuriate a lot of gay audience members, and the lack of scale and cinematic flair makes it a trudge to watch. Go to Full Review
Rich Cline Shadows on the Wall 05/07/2018
3/5
This drama is sharply well written and played, with knowing observations about the collision between religion and culture. Go to Full Review
Craig Mathieson The Sunday Age 03/16/2018
3.5/5
[It] doesn't just capture the community dynamics of a southern church and the contradictory pressures, he allows Eli to be seen not as a hypocrite but someone who has genuinely tried to serve their faith and not their heart. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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04/21/2021 WHY? It is not more interesting for the viewer to have the characters in a movie do something totally out of their character. It only makes the movie confusing not shocking. It is probably more interesting in the script room or to play as an actor, but is only frustrating for the viewer. The only reason I continued to watch the movie after the wife turned into evil wife and lovable drunk friend turned into evil drunk friend, was the hope that the two main characters would either get together or at least part ways with some meaningful dialogue. Again, WHY is murder of a homosexual drug addict a believable or acceptable 2017 plot? Did not make the movie edgy. I wonder if the play wad the same exact plot? If this was a statement about the evangelicals, get over it. Not sorry I watched this, just sorry it didn't have another script rewrite before going into production. See more 04/23/2020 This masterful debut, exploring homophobia in an rural Evangelical town—but also a much more trenchant cultural portrait—deserved far wider mainstream review attention and distribution. "The Revival" is excellently crafted, exceptionally well cast and acted with a devastatingly surprising denouement, exploring the hypocritical power of religious hate and self-loathing, but also the cruel effects of poverty on the lives of those who grew up in blue collar, trailer park communities wracked by the abuse of young women and drug use and the materialism of Christian megachurches with their self-righteous fire-and-brimstone. All this is conveyed through the interplay of strong characters acting on their desperate needs and urges in a tangled web of compelling relationships. Particularly powerful given the Trumpist enabling of right wing hypocrisy . A must see. See more 09/25/2019 The movie itself was well written and acted but the ending was wrong, like it was set aside for awhile and then just hastily written to have an ending. They could have taken the ending in so many different well thought out and meaningful directions, why they chose this way is beyond me. Ruined the movie for me and I will NOT recommend anyone watch it. See more 09/03/2019 So the two leading men were great and the scenes with the two of them together are worth a watch, so like just watch a compilation of those scenes. As for the rest of the film, I would say don't bother. In trying to unmask the violence, vitriol, and hate aimed at LGBT people in conservative Christian communities, it ends up using a dangerous and quite frankly, outdated trope when it kills it's the most openly gay character at the end. So instead of coming off as enlightening, it comes off as mean spirited, boring slog. See more 05/05/2019 The execution is better than the not particularly original premise. It avoids the trap of being as trite as an after school special. See more 03/30/2019 One of the worst movies I’ve seen. Cruel and downright bad. No need to waste your time on this movie. See more Read all reviews
The Revival

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Movie Info

Synopsis A Baptist preacher stays in a secret affair with a young drifter.
Director
Jennifer Gerber
Producer
Sophie Finkelstein
Screenwriter
Samuel Brett Williams
Genre
Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 23, 2018
Runtime
1h 25m
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