Pop Culture Reviews

Gospel Hill – DVD Review

Distributor: Madman Films  Released: 2008 Genre: Drama Credits: Director: Giancarlo Esposito Starring: Danny Glover, Angela Bassett, Samuel L. Jackson, Adam Baldwin, Julia Stiles, Taylor Kitsch, RZA  Rating: M

This DVD was supplied by Madman Entertainment New Zealand for review

This review may contain spoilers.

One of the nice things about the Madman movie titles is that alot of these movies seem to go largely unnoticed or ‘Under the Radar’ as I like to call it. That can be both good and bad. Good because the more movies you watch the more you realise that not all good movies are released at your local movie theatre. On the other hand, it’s bad because it also means that the ‘under the radar’ movies may never receive the public recognition they deserve in countries like New Zealand. Gospel Hill, like many of the movie titles we review here at PCR, is another good movie that shouldn’t go unnoticed.

With a cast that’s as solid as a rock – Samuel L. Jackson, Danny Glover, Julia Stiles and Angela Bassett, one wonders how a movie with this much star quality ends up collecting dust somewhere in a local video store. Gospel Hill is a moving story about racial hostility in the town of Julia, South Carolina. Even though it may be hard to relate to the subject matter for many New Zealanders, I am sure that the message this movie sends out can be clearly understood by all. Gospel Hill makes you think about the power of corruption, money and greed and about people who choose to make a difference and stand up for their rights and the rights of others in the face of insurmountable odds.

Samuel L. Jackson’s role as black civil rights activist Paul Malcolm is largely played in the background. The circumstances surrounding his assassination were never properly investigated and this has left a gaping hole in the community between the relatives of Paul Malcolm (his son, Danny Glover and his wife, Angela Bassett) and the relatives of the Sheriff who investigated the murder. Julia Stiles arrives on the scene as a newcomer to the town and she falls for local hottie Joel Herrod (played by Taylor Kitsch) who just happens to be the youngest son of the retired Sheriff Jack Herrod (played by Tom Bower).

The other problem for the residents of Julia involves local doctor Dr. Palmer (played by the director Giancarlo Esposito) who seems to be involved in a plan to take over and/or buy out the land owners of Gospel Hill to make way for massive land development by white developers. I found this a rather interesting side-plot considering the fact that Dr. Palmer is a member of the black community of Julia and appears to be betraying the local community to get rich. In the meantime, his beautiful black wife is having an illicit affair with Carl Herrod (played by Adam Baldwin), the older brother of Joel.

Gospel Hill is oozing with controversy, drama and intrigue not to mention fantastic acting and casting and a solid directorial debut by Giancarlo Esposito.

Keep a look out for this title at your local video store, or even better, head on over to Madman to check it out now.

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