Wesley (2009)

The year is 1732. John Wesley, an irritatingly self-righteous instructor at Oxford is offered the chance to go to the new colony of Georgia, where he hopes to preach to the Indians. During ... See full summary »

Director:

John Jackman

Writers:

Carolyn Haywood (screenplay), John Jackman

Stars:

Burgess Jenkins, R. Keith Harris, Lloyd Arneach

3 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Burgess Jenkins	...	John Wesley
R. Keith Harris	...	Charles Wesley
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lloyd Arneach	...	Tomochichi
Jim Babel	...	Footman
Tom Barker	...	Herr Toltschig (as Thomas Barker)
Leanne Bernard	...	Grace Murray
Randy Bernard	...	Furniss
Dave Blamy	...	Father
Peter Bost	...	Dick Baker
Mark Boynton	...	Oglethorpe
Kelli Coffman	...	Drunk Woman
Ray Collins	...	Angry Bishop
Eric Cover	...	William Seward
Reid Dalton	...	Rector
Alex Dillard	...	Singing drunk

Storyline

The year is 1732. John Wesley, an irritatingly self-righteous instructor at Oxford is offered the chance to go to the new colony of Georgia, where he hopes to preach to the Indians. During the voyage, the ship encounters a violent storm; overwhelmed with the fear of death, Wesley begins to doubt the validity of his faith In Georgia, Wesley's plans are waylaid: he is not able to do much preaching among the native tribes, and falls in love with Sophy Hopkey, the beautiful niece of the local magistrate. When the star-crossed romance fails to produce a proposal from the angst-ridden young minister, Sophy marries another; bitterness explodes between the two until one day Wesley publicly refuses to serve Holy Communion to Sophy. He is arrested for defamation of character - and is to be tried by Sophy's uncle! There will be no fair trial here. Escaping from Savannah, he returns to England in failure and shame. Back in London, he meets a Moravian missionary, Peter Boehler, who counsels the ...

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Plot Keywords:

social ministry | georgia | moravian | missionary | surname as title | 

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Taglines:

A Heart Transformed ... Can Change the World

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Уэсли

Filming Locations:

Old Salem, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Foundery Pictures, The Gillder Frontier

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the horses that John Wesley rides in the movie was a gift from the Fernando Henrique Cardoso, President of Brazil to President Bill Clinton. Since US presidents cannot accept personal gifts, the horse was given to the US Park Service, which in tern donated it to the Methodist Children's Home in Winston-Salem, NC

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Goofs

Charles Wesley sings "And Can it Be" to the tune Sagina, written by Thomas Campbell (1800-1876). Charles Wesley died in 1788.

User Reviews

My non-Methodist heart was strangely warmed

I was fortunate to stumble across this well crafted drama of the early years of John Wesley's ministry on the Firstlight TV channel in New Zealand. It was quite difficult to find on the IMDb website. For an overtly "Christian" film, it was a surprisingly good film; one I'd rate closer to 8 than 7 out of 10. As a non-Methodist, I had no idea of Wesley's early ministry in the young American colony of Georgia, nor of the torments of youthful love that he experienced there. His family relationships, especially with Charles and Samuel, are shown in some depth, as well as the profound influence of the Moravians in bringing him to a deeper faith and understanding of the essential Christian message. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of his successor George Whitfield's work in America, especially the "revival" forever associated with him, and also more exploration of the later decades of John Wesley's life. All in all, a film of inspiration for today.