Gospel Hill
Gospel Hill
| 09 February 2008 (USA)
Gospel Hill Trailers

Gospel Hill tells the intersecting story of two men in the fictional South Carolina town of Julia. Danny Glover plays John Malcolm, the son of a slain civil rights activist. Jack Herrod (Tom Bower) is the former sheriff who never got to the bottom of the murder. Their paths begin to cross when a development corporation comes to town with plans to raze Julia's historic Gospel Hill.

Reviews
Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!
Hulkeasexo it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.
InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Alonzo Church The town of Julia SC is approaching the 40th anniversary of the assassination of its leading civil rights figure, just as it is contemplating tearing down GOSPEL HILL -- its historic black district -- for a golf course. Can the many characters of this drama find redemption in racial reconciliation, or will it ignore its history for the price of a few jobs from a rapacious developer?This fascinating drama, which works harder than any recent movie I have seen at capturing the rhythms of the current-day small-town South, deserved a bigger audience than it is getting on DVD and cable. However, the movie does not entirely succeed, simply because it is trying to depict a fairly complicated community in two hours, and to get its mission done, it reaches far too often for handy clichés. (You know the ones -- outside corporations are by definition super-evil, every white man is at least a little bit racist, and there is a rich cabal outside the main action of the drama who really control everything.) The most successful dramas in recent years dealing with smaller communities (Twin Peaks, Friday Night Lights) have been TV shows which have more time to develop characters and a sense of community. This movie, which has too many major characters to develop, has the right idea in its pacing, and its allowance in all but one of its main characters some shades of gray. But it can't quite get to a believable conclusion of redemption, because the movie running time was not there. Considering the elephantitis of so many content free films these days, it is a shame the movie makers did not have the budget or the runtime to put more meat on its fascinating subplots.This guy needs another chance at his subject. Because he understands the South, and the way that southern towns are so often haunted by their past. Hopefully, he'll get a miniseries on cable to demonstrate it.
danceability-1 For The Love of Money.Gospel Hill is a community in the small town of Julia. The people there have lived in their homes for generations. The Valley Corporation plans to build on Gospel Hill, so they want to buy these people out, not caring that many of them have no place else to go. Displacing an African-American community means nothing to these developers, while profiting from the new homes and golf course they plan to build means everything. That is called "the love of money", which is the root of all evil. Instead of fighting to save Gospel Hill, Dr. Ron Palmer (Giancarlo Esposito) joins the developers, making money by taking advantage of the less fortunate and calling it opportunity. Sarah Malcolm (Angela Bassett) takes a stand against the Valley Corporation. Her husband, John (Danny Glover) shows very little support. He lost his passion to fight for what's right years ago when his father, Paul, was gunned down and left to bleed to death in the street. The 40th anniversary of his father's death is approaching but he's not sure he can bring himself to attend the ceremony to honor Paul Malcolm's legacy. John has to work through the pain he's been feeling for so long. Will he do it in time to save his wife, whose life is in danger? This movie goes from present to past. The past focuses on Paul Malcolm (Samuel L. Jackson), an activist for social justice, and it's filmed in black & white - nice effect. There wasn't as much intensity as I expected for a movie dealing with racial issues, and that was fine because although I was a bit bothered by some of the content I wasn't left feeling angry. Not a whole lot of profanity. Sex scenes weren't graphic. Love Angela Bassett and the strong woman she portrayed. Church scene was touching. Gospel Hill is a good movie worth watching.Actors: Samuel L. Jackson, Giancarlo Esposito, Julia Stiles, Nia Long, RZA, Chloe Bailey, Adam Baldwin, Angela Bassett, Casey Belville, Chuck Bibby, Charles Jones. danceability-1, Amsterdam Holland
dbborroughs Giancarlo Esposito directs and co stars in the story of a town with racial strife in its past thanks to the killing of a civil rights leader decades before. As the ghosts of the past are woken up and a new corporate threat comes to town the people in the town are forced to make some choices. Well made and well acted tale wants to hit one out of the box in examinations of race and community, but is mired with a script that never completely shakes off its well worn cloak. We've been here before and while much of the film works, it still relies on cliché (there is something about Julia Stiles character that just doesn't ring true). I think perhaps the film is trying to do too much, there are a good number of characters and all are given a certain amount of time. I liked it, but I didn't love it. Of course the DVD cover made it look like a thriller or mystery, which while it has elements isn't what it really is.
nylaphx Long been a fan of Giancarlo Esposito and it was great to meet and talk with him at the Sedona Film Festival where this film was shown. It is a sweet story full of redemption for many characters, not a shoot em up, car chase movie so maybe it is not enough for many viewers. It is a very good film and I would highly recommend it to all. The acting is excellent and the direction sharp. It's a great reminder of how some of the more difficult times in this country have contributed to the world we live in today. Of how as humans we control our ability to forgive and forget or not.My only real criticism is about Julie Stiles character Rosie, I kept waiting for her the truth of her interest in the story to be revealed it just didn't quite work for me.But all in all I would say it was a great first directorial effort and I look forward to his next project.