The Rapture (1991)

64% of critics liked it
(25 reviews)
60% of users liked it
(2,591 ratings)

An audacious film about faith, The Rapture is a contemporary fantasy that keeps its feet unnervingly planted in reality even as reality starts to collapse. Mimi Rogers, in a strikingly accomplished performance, stars as Sharon, a telephone operator who spends her off-hours engaging in casual group… More An audacious film about faith, The Rapture is a contemporary fantasy that keeps its feet unnervingly planted in reality even as reality starts to collapse. Mimi Rogers, in a strikingly accomplished performance, stars as Sharon, a telephone operator who spends her off-hours engaging in casual group sex to blot out her boredom. By chance, she becomes aware of a small Christian sect whose members believe that they have found a child with the gift of prophecy who has seen the upcoming end times. Slowly but steadily, Sharon finds herself drawn to this group, and one night she abruptly turns a corner, renounces her old life, and embraces fundamentalism with passion. She marries one of her former lovers, Randy (David Duchovny), who takes up Sharon's evangelical fervor to atone for his past as a hired killer, and they have a daughter. All seems peaceful until Randy is unexpectedly murdered, and Sharon takes her child to the desert to await the rapture that will bring the chosen to heaven. The film neither supports nor scoffs at Sharon's views, and the superb performances add immeasurably to a film that presents the unbelievable (and unthinkable) at face value, making it seem oddly plausible in the process. Michael Tolkin has also written and/or directed such films as The Player (1992), directed by Robert Altman, and The New Age (1994), both of which also skewer contemporary American society as shallow, materialistic, and desperate for something authentic to believe in. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Michael Tolkin
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1991 Wide
On DVD: Nov 2, 2004
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
Somewhat full-of-itself but bizarrely intriguing allegory.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
An interestinbg if problematic film, whose last reel breaks free from the narrative to take on a more primitive line that recalls episodes out of TV's Outer limits or Twlight Zone.
Carol Cling, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Rogers excels in a provocative, unsettling drama.
Rumsey Taylor, Not Coming to a Theater Near You
The Rapture is not ostensibly a horror film, but I found it deeply frightening, and it is so on a purely conceptual level.
Bill Chambers, Film Freak Central
Is Tolkin really that much better than an ersatz Larry Cohen?
Keith Uhlich, Slant Magazine
"Who forgives God?"
Keith Uhlich, Slant Magazine
The very title evokes slippery visions of both spirit and sex.
Don Willmott, Filmcritic.com
one of the most egregiously overlooked movies of the 1990s
Jon Niccum, Lawrence Journal-World
Bizarre and memorable

Read all 9 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Wahida K

1. ecstatic joy or delight. 2. a state of extreme sexual ecstasy. 3. the feeling of being transported to another sphere of existence. 4. the experience of being spirited away to Heaven just before the Apocalypse.
Mark A

This turned out to be a ham-fisted and theologically suspect film about a possible scenario at the end of the age, utilizing a lot of the imagery and the narrative as found in the book of The Revelation of John. Mimi Rogers was very good as Sharon, a woman who finds God when her… More
This turned out to be a ham-fisted and theologically suspect film about a possible scenario at the end of the age, utilizing a lot of the imagery and the narrative as found in the book of The Revelation of John. Mimi Rogers was very good as Sharon, a woman who finds God when her empty, hedonistic lifestyle bottoms out. Her quest for meaning for her life was fairly well portrayed although this viewer found her modesty a bit off putting, if she was supposed to be that into the swinging lifestyle. (Must have had a no nudity clause in her contract.) The performance of David Duchovny struck this viewer as pretty wooden and left one wondering how he went from interested skeptic to heart-felt believer. One also found oneself wondering about the connections between some of the characters. A little more back story would have lifted a bit of the fog surrounding them. And the loss of faith at the end seemed unnecessarily melodramatic. But, even with its many flaws, there was a lot to chew on here and for that it gets an otherwise undeserved third star.
Eduardo C

Feels like a parody or a bible-belt propaganda piece for the bulk of its duration and then very nearly redeems itself with a very powerful closing scene. A conversion flick this is definitely not.
Anthony V

An exploration into modern spirituality, but don't let that off put you. The violence and sex create an intensity not often seen in American cinema. Like it or hate it (seems to often some religious sects), it will stir up debate and leave a lasting impression.

Cast

            Mimi Rogers as Sharon

            David Duchovny as Randy

            Patrick Bauchau as Vic

            Carole R. Davis as Angie

            Will Patton as Sheriff Foster

            Linda Albertano as Angel

            Christian Belnavis as Older Boy

            Rustam Branaman as Conrad

            Scott Burkholder as 1st Evangelist

            Darwyn Carson as Maggie

            Kimberly Cullum as Mary

            Patrick Dollaghan as Executive

            Marvin Elkins as Bartender

            Joshua Farrell as Cashier

            Vince Grant as 2nd Evangelist

            Terri Hanauer as Paula

            Henry Kingi as Angel

            Michael David Lally as Man on Television

            James LeGros as Tommy

            Stephanie Menuez as Diana

            Kerry Leigh Michaels as Guard

            DeVaughn Walter Nixon as 1st Boy

            Denney Pierce as Rock Climber

            Andrew Pressman as Manager

            Natalie  Radford
            
            Douglas Roberts as Louis

            Sam Vlahos as Wayne

            Dick Anthony Williams as Henry

            Victoria Williams as Faithful

            Bojan Bazelli
            
            Deborah Aquila
            
See full cast

The Rapture (1991)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Wahida K

Mark A

Eduardo C

Anthony V

Cast

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